ALL ENGLAND 2015 Finals – Chen takes second title

Chen Long backed up his performance against compatriot Lin Dan with another impressive win in the final against Denmark’s Jan Ø. Jorgensen. Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen also made sure Denmark didn’t go home empty handed as they prevented a fourth title to China, beating Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan in a power play men’s doubles match.

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

The match between Chen Long (pictured left) and Jan Ø. Jorgensen (pictured right) may go down as a classic, and was by far the most enthralling match of the day.

It was tight in the first two games, which the players divided evenly between them, but Chen, with the momentum, looked to run away with the game in the third.

Jorgensen had a match point saved by a video review at 20-12 and then three tense points passed as it looked like he might make the incredible recovery but a lucky smash saw the shuttle roll over the net for Chen to take his second title in a mammoth 87 minutes.

Jan said after, “Disappointed I couldn’t win, I really thought I had a chance. I just wanted it so much, to join that club [of Danish champions] so I gave it my everything.

“Chen Long is a great player and an amazing champion. He’s so strong physically.

“I’ve proved that my standing is the right one. Looking back at it, a victory in Germany and a final here, it is not so bad a start to my 2015.”

Chen was obviously happy with his game, but joked about his comeback, “It’s normal for me to lose the first game. I just have to stay calm and keep playing.”

He said of the video reviews, “For the match point, I didn’t know, he challenged it because he had no other option. I had to not get distracted, just focus on the next point.

“Having these official reviews for controversial calls is a good development for the event, every player should have the opportunity to do this.”

Chen’s rivalry with Lin Dan was not unmentioned however: “Jorgensen is tough, but Lin Dan is another level. I want to catch his record, but I need to maintain my physical condition, to make sure I get no injuries.”

Asked whether this proved his status at the top, Chen replied, “I don’t think I need this to prove I am number one to anyone.  Men’s singles is always competitive and I am just happy to be here.”

Last on court was an exhibition of power hitting as Mathias Boe (pictured left) and Carsten Mogensen faced Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan in an entertaining and tense affair.

Fu Haifeng said after, “We didn’t concentrate enough at the ends of the games. The second could have gone any way and if we’d dragged it to a third we could have got it. Full credit to Mathias and Carsten as they didn’t make any mistakes.”

Mathias was a much happier player however: “The first game was a tough game. We came out as the best at the beginning but then they came back at us a little. We changed it up at the break and controlled it to the end.

“Winning the first game in a final of a big tournament, it gave us a lot of confidence. They played very well and moved forward, putting pressure on us, but we just had to lift it over them.”

The full results for the day can be found here.