ALL ENGLAND 2013 R32 – Kido and Bernadeth upset top Danes

Markis Kido, playing with sister Pia Zebediah Bernadeth, caused an upset in the mixed against fourth seeds Fischer Nielsen and Pedersen of Denmark, who followed in the footsteps of their other Danish mixed compatriots as they finished in the tournament.

By Michael Burke, Badzine Correspondent, live from Birmingham.  Photos: Yohan Nonotte for Badmintonphoto (live).

Danes Fischer Nielsen (pictured left) and Pedersen started the match well against Markis Kido and Pia Zebediah Bernadeth (pictured below), playing consistently to take the first end 12-21, leading for all but one point of the game, as the Indonesian pair took their time to settle into the match.

The second game saw Kido warm to the match and start to dictate play, opening up into characteristic big smashes with the siblings finding particularly success in their rotation, Pia not afraid to play from the back. The Danes led 11-9 at the mid game but there was nothing to separate the pairs as the Indonesians just inched ahead to take the game to three.

Again there was nothing to separate the pairs in the third end, with exception of Kido thundering down smashes. The intensity of the game showed as the players needed a break at 19-17, and the Danes pushed hard to save the deficit by saving 3 match points however they failed to take their own chance to win the match. In the end, a very fortunate shot from Pia rolled over the net to the dismay of the Danes and Markis and Pia fell to the floor in celebration.

Speaking after the match Pia said that she and her brother “were playing for the enjoyment and we’re really happy with the win. We look forward to playing the Koreans [Shin Baek Cheol / Jang Ye Na] in the next round.”

The day had not started well for the other Danish mixed pairs either as Kristiansen and Houmann, buoyed by their recent run to the final of the German Open, were unable to repeat the performance exited at the hands of Chinese pair Qiu Zihan and Bao Yixin despite a hard fought second end, losing 21-19 25-23. While later the Chinese were again responsible as Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei easily beat Mads Pieler Kolding and Kamilla Rytter Juhl 21-11 21-9.

The full results for the day can be found here.

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