IRISH INT’L Final – Double for Adcock and Vittinghus takes 7 from 7

As the curtain is drawn on the 97^th Irish International in Dublin, Chris Adcock will head back across the Irish Sea with double gold after victory in both the men’s and mixed doubles.  However the story of the day was Hans Kristian Vittinghus’s victory in the men’s singles after an epic 3-game battle with Pablo Abian of Spain.

Images and Article by Mark Phelan (Live in Dublin)

Chris Adcock was first and last on court today in the finals of the Irish International, one of the oldest and best established tournaments on the European tour, and at the end of the day, the likable Englishman had the biggest smile on his face as he emerged as double doubles champion.

In the opening finals match Adcock, along with partner Imogen Bankier , secured their second international championship in their short international career as pair as they defeated Denmark’s Christian Skovgaard and Britta Andersen in 2 sets. The Danes were unable to match the tempo of the British pair and Adcock and Bankier (pictured) added the Irish International title to the gold they won in Scotland just three weeks ago.

In the most thrilling match on finals day, Denmark’s Hans Kristian Vittinghus (pictured) held his nerve to send Pablo Abian back to Spain wondering what if!!!

The Dane took the opening set but Abian bounced right back in the second and when leading comfortably in the third, the cup looked to be heading back on a flight to Madrid. However Vittinghus had a different plan and, after trailing by 5 points, somehow he clawed his way back into it  to tie the set up at 18-18.  The next few points proved to be epic as both players dived and rolled to retrieve smashes and keep the shuttle alive. Abian had match point at 20-19 and failed to convert. The Spaniard had match point again at 21-20 and failed to convert what looked like the easiest of smashes and could only hold his head in agony as the shuttle landed outside the line. The Dane sensed this was his opportunity and went on to take the next two points to take the title and keep his remarkable record of winning every final he has been in. 7 finals and 7 victories.

“I couldn’t believe he missed that smash at match point, I’m just lucky he did.  I’ve never lost a final on the European tour, that was my seventh win out of seven, but I came very close to losing that one.  It was lucky number seven for me!” said an overjoyed Vittinghus.

In the women’s singles, Susan Egelstaff (pictured) proved too strong for Karina Jorgensen of Denmark.  The Scott ,who had defeated the defending champion Carolina Marin in the semi-final, found it difficult to break the young Dane in the opening set but after taking the lead with a 23-21 victory, eased into overdrive and never allowed her opponent get a grip on the second set and ran out a convincing 21-8 winner.

In the all-English men’s doubles final, Adcock and Ellis proved just too strong for Clark and Langridge in a hotly contested affair with many verbal exchanges back and forth over the net.  It was to be Adcock and Ellis’s day.  A 21-13, 21-16 victory reflected the dominance they had shown all week in Dublin.

The women’s doubles was a repeat of last year’s final between England’s Heather Olver and Mariana Agathangelou and Denmark’s Anne Skelbaek and Maria Helsbol (pictured).  The 2009 edition saw the English girls lift the title and this year the roles were reversed as the Danes came back from a set down to even scores at one Irish International Championship apiece. Who knows but both pairs might be back next year for that best of three shootout….

All results click HERE

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The Irish International ended with an exhibition match for the badminton charity Solibad. Taking to the court were Scott Evans (IRL), Hans Krisitian Vittinghus (Men’s singles champion DEN) Kristian Midtgaard (DEN) and Juli Houmann (DEN) for a light-hearted mixed match where both Evans and Vittinghus took turns being the woman in the pairing. The exhibition proved to be a lot of fun for all in attendance and a few lucky raffle winners went home with signed shirts from Evans, Vittinghus and Jan O Jorgensen.

To view a small video snippet of the exhibition click HERE