SS FINALS 2010 Day 4 – Danes win another ‘crazy one’

As always, Boe/Mogensen and Cai/Fu produced a showcase of awesome rallies but the Danes emerged as victors and will contest their first ‘Finals final’ on Sunday.

By Don Hearn, Badzine Correspondent live in Taipei.  Photos: Badmintonphoto (live)

Denmark’s Mathias Boe pointed out, after the first men’s doubles semi-final, that he and Carsten Mogensen ‘have played a lot of crazy matches’ with Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng of China. Saturday in Taipei was no exception as the Danish pair hung on to snatch the 21-10, 18-21, 21-19 victory and gain entry to the final at the Victor BWF Super Series Finals.

The first game was a comfortable win for the Danes and the second looked like the Chinese would simply return the favour but Boe/Mogensen came back from 14-19 down to nearly tie it up.  The Chinese were so firmly in control that it was only when the Danes caught up to 17-19 that the first cries of Jiajyou! were heard from what soon became a very partisan crowd.

As often happens, though, it was the badminton itself that became the crowd favourite as the stunning rallies were what delighted the crowd in the third game, largely irrespective of who won them.

“We feel very good now.  The year has certainly started out very well so far,” said Carsten Mogensen afterward.  “We hope to play China in the final, though.”

“Lee Yong Dae seems to have fully recovered from injury,” Boe explained, “so now he and Jung Jae Sung are back at full-strength as you can see from their easy win at the China Open so being able to match them is one of our main concerns but we have beaten them before, even on their home court so we will be ready.”

When asked to comment on Jung’s feeling that being in their sponsor’s home country made the Koreans feel like they were playing at home, Boe said “Well we won here in 2008 so we also feel like we are at a second home so I say ‘Bring it on!’”

The stands were at by far their fullest level of the week from the beginning of the afternoon but the energy level reached its peak, predictably, when the home team, Cheng Wen Hsing / Chien Yu Chin, took on China Open winners Cheng Shu / Zhao Yunlei of China.  There were still lots of cries of Jiayou! but it the loudest celebrations were naturally for the successes of Cheng/Chien.

The Chinese Taipei pair gave the local crowd plenty to cheer about, too, leading throughout much of the first game and mounting a valiant comeback in the second before the mainland pair took it 22-20, 21-19.

“I think we’ve played this pair four times in the past, most recently at the Japan Open last year,” Cheng recounted.  “We have taken them to three games more than once and we were really hoping to push it to a third today.  It really is a pity that in front of the home crowd, we couldn’t beat the Chinese or at least take it to three again.”

For Cheng/Zhao, as with most mainland pairs, it is very rare that they are pushed enough by a local pair that they would face a two-pronged challenge from both a partisan crowd and capable opponents.

“The crowd wasn’t really much of a factor,” Zhao insisted.

“In Malaysia, there are far more spectators and here, the fact that people cheer in Chinese means that we can tell when part of the crowd is on our side,” she added, with a grin.

Things quieted down considerably once the Taiwan pair left the floor.  There was none of the evening pickup in interest that had marked the weekday group play and the two Thai mixed doubles pairs were left with a manageable task to concentrate on proceedings on court.  Veterans Sudket Prapakamol / Saralee Thoughthongkam took that match by a comfortable 21-13, 21-16 to book a date with All England champions Zhang/Zhao.

For complete results from Day 4 of the BWF Super Series Finals, CLICK HERE

Come stay with us for the Super Series Finals at the Chateau de Chine.  Located at the heart of Sinjhuang City, Chateau de Chine Hotel is created to convey the vibrant and everlasting sense of traditional beauty. Inspired by the Art Nouveau style, Chateau de Chine hotel infuses the finest elegance of French design with an authentic touch of oriental aesthetics.   If you are looking for quality accommodation during the event or anytime you are visiting Taipei, check out their website here.