Denmark is represented in four out of five final matches at the AIG FZ FORZA Irish Open in Dublin. England also has one chance to win a title in mixed doubles.
38 potential European finalists. That's what we had before the quarterfinals started this morning. Five of them survived two intense rounds of badminton at the AIG FZ FORZA Irish Open today. With Magnus Johannesen (men's singles), Christine Busch/Amalie Schulz (women's doubles), Andreas Søndergaard/Iben Bergstein (mixed doubles), and Rasmus Kjær/Frederik Søgaard (men's doubles) Denmark has four chances to take a title in Dublin on Saturday.
"It's been an amazing couple of days. We've played some of our best badminton", said Andreas Søndergaard after beating the German pair Jan Colin Voelker & Stine Kuespert 21-17 21-18 in the semifinals. The young Danes arrived in Dublin with a spot in the qualification round but slided into the main draw through a withdrawl. From their on they simply couldn't be stopped.
They probably will have the crowd against them tomorrow as the other finalists, Gregory Mairs and Jenny Moore from England, had the cheers on their side during quarter- and semifinals. "We definitely felt that. It's always good to play in front of fans", admitted Mairs an Moore added: "Hopefully we can put on a good show."
Take a look at tomorrow's finals:
Men's singles: Magnus Johannesen (DEN) vs. Lin Chun-Yi (TPE)
Women's singles: Riko Gunji (JPN) vs. Natsuki Nidaira (JPN)
Men's doubles: Rasmus Kjær/Frederik Søgaard (DEN) vs. Ayato Endo/Yuta Takei (JPN)
Women's doubles: Christine Busch/Amalie Schulz (DEN) vs. Chang Ching Hui/Yang Ching Tun (TPE)
Mixed doubles: Andreas Søndergaard/Iben Bergstein (DEN) vs. Gregory Mairs/Jenny Moore (ENG)
Finals start at 1:00 PM local time. All matches will be streamed live on
badmintoneurope.tv