The Netherlands now have two spots in the semifinals after Mark Caljouw joins Selena Piek/ Cheryl Seinen in the business end of the All England Open 2021.
The colours of the Dutch flag are red, white, and blue, however, around the world, the Netherlands is closely identified with orange. Orange is a colour that is part of their long history and is the colour of the Dutch royal family.
The only time the Netherlands took home the All England title was in 1967 when Imre Rietveld won the women’s doubles with Dane, Ulla Strand.
Earlier in the day, Selena Piek/ Cheryl Seinen kept their dream of repeating this feat alive by overcoming Ashwini Ponnappa/ Sikki Reddy to reach the final four. Mark Caljouw also faced India in his match when taking on Lakshya Sen.
Caljouw started the stronger, winning 21-17 in the opening game. Sen, a plucky rallier, was able to pull it back level. Caljouw led 11-7 at the change of ends of the final game and then stretched this lead to 16-11. With the match all but won, Sen delivered a flurry of points to draw level at 16-16.
A dream for me
Regathering himself, Caljouw was able to get the job done, winning 21-17 in the final game.
-I was quite nervous but it feels amazing. I know it's a different All England Open than the other years, but it feels amazing to be in the semifinals and a dream for me, a relieved Caljouw said.
-He's [Sen] an upcoming star. I prepared well with my coach and it went really well, Caljouw added.
Caljouw will now play Lee Zii Jia, who defeated the world number one Kento Momota earlier. The two played in 2019 at the German Open. That time it went to three games, with the Malaysian coming out on top 21-16 in the decider.
-I'm expecting a tough match in the next round and I'm going to enjoy it now and then I'll prepare, Caljouw stated.