EURO CHAMPS 2012 QF – Henri ousts 5-time champion Gade

Hometown hero Henri Hurskainen fought his way into the semi-finals of the 2012 European Individual Championships, sending top seed Peter Gade packing.

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

Henri Hurskainen (pictured) of Sweden was not the Swede picked to play the opener on Monday but he certainly hogged the spotlight in the quarter-finals, as he played the longest match of the day as he battled to a 21-19, 12-21, 21-19 victory over defending champion Peter Gade (pictured below) of Denmark.

“Well, what can I say….things are just not happening the way I could imagine at the moment,” Gade posted on his Facebook fan page.  “Even though it’s been a tough start to 2012 and the last 3 months have been very difficult to handle in many ways, I’m still surprised I can let go of a 18-12 lead in 3rd set against Henrik Hurskainen this evening at the Europeans.

“I knew that I couldn’t expect to play at my best this week in Karlskrona, but still, this is not what I expected.  Henri played a great match and showed great frighting spirit, but this is simply a matter of beating and handling myself and my feelings on court.  Even though I have tons of experience to draw from, there’s still a lot of new elements to get a hold on at the moment.

“I have to admit that, no matter what I do, some elements are simply not the same anymore.  On top of that, my problems with my ankle lately are not making things easier.”

Denied passage to the final of this event, which carries ranking points equivalent to a Grand Prix Gold event, Gade is left with just one more chance to elbow China’s Chen Jin out of the world’s top 4.  Gade, who was the runner-up at last year’s India Open, still has a mathematical chance of finishing the London qualifying period in fourth spot if he can win in Delhi this year, even if Chen goes on to win the Badminton Asian Championships, the quarter-finals of which he will play this afternoon.

Meanwhile, back in Karlskrona, Denmark still has two chances in the men’s singles, as Viktor Axelsen (pictured) and Jan Jorgensen both advanced to the semi-finals.  Axelsen will get the chance to avenge Gade’s loss to Hurskainen, while Jorgensen takes on Germany’s Marc Zwiebler.

Gade was not the only Danish top seed to lose on Thursday, either.  Somewhat less of a shock was the win by former world #1’s Robert Mateusiak / Nadiezda Zieba (pictured below) of Poland over Joachim Fischer Nielsen / Christinna Pedersen, favourites to win the mixed doubles.

As in the men’s singles, however, Denmark still has two semi-finalists.  Two-time champions Laybourn/Rytter Juhl will play compatriots Mads Pieler Kolding / Julie Houmann for a spot in the final after the latter sprung a surprise on third-seeded Russians Nikolaenko/Sorokina.

A close third for longest match of the day was another epic mixed battle between the two British pairs vying for a single Olympic berth.  2004 champion Nathan Robertson and partner Jenny Wallwork may be way behind in the quest for Olympic qualification, but they still had a mathematical chance to pass fellow Brits Adcock/Bankier if they could do well in Karlskrona and Delhi.

On Thursday, Robertson and Wallwork showed they were far from giving up, only narrowly missing entry into the semi-finals.  Just as at the Swiss Open last month, the pair were staring victory in the face with a 20-19 lead in the third game, only to let it slip away.

Meanwhile, Denmark’s top seeds are still on track for gold in the other three disciplines, with the definite possibility of a Danish sweep of the titles in Karlskrona.

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