BITBURGER OPEN 2011 Finals – Unseeded Thais and HK get symbolic successes

Hans Kristian Vitthingus and the Thai pair of Bodin Issara and Maneepong Jongjit were the surprise winners of the finals of the Bitburger Open on Sunday in Saarbrücken, Germany, each exacting payback from a Chinese opponent who had dealt them a tough loss this year.

By Raphael Sachetat. Photos: Sven Heise (live from Saarbrücken)

Very few people would have bet on the win of Thailand’s Bodin Issara and Maneepong Jongjit (photo) at the beginning of the week. Unseeded, the Thai pair played a perfect week of badminton, leaving no games behind them in spite of playing pairs like Rasmussen/Conrad Petersen or China’s Liu/Qiu in the final, who had just beaten top seeds Boe/Mogensen in the semis.

The Thais were even given losers in the final on the official website before the correct result was put back online a few hours later.  However, they made good on their near miss in the Japan Open and put Liu and Qiu in their place, settling for silver after their own dream week of badminton.

The other big winner of the day is Hans Kristian Vittinghus (photo), who also had never been on top of a Grand Prix Gold before Sunday afternoon. The Dane had to wait until the last match in order to get on court and challenge Chinese youngster Wang Zhengming and was hoping to get one step further than the previous year where he had been beaten at that stage by Chen Long.  The 2010 final was, however, a good memory for Hans, who had then started a series of successes on the international stage. On Sunday, he stunned another Chinese – Wang Zhengming, with the manner and a maturity which was lacking until now in the Dane’s game. Vittinghus took it home in straight games 21-18, 21-10

“It feels really really nice!!” exclaimed Vittinghus after the match.  “I had such a good feeling all day also and when I was on court, I was also sure I would win. It was really a great feeling to win today!  I’m also proud of myself!

“I am very happy to have finally won this tournament. I like this tournament very much – the arena is very nice, I really like the setup and the whole organization,” he mentioned, adding “It’s nice to finally put this Solibad logo all the way to the top of the podium,” referring to the logo of the foundation called ‘Solibad – Badminton Without Borders’ he’s been wearing for free for almost two years.

Li Xuerui avenges French loss

After her loss in the final of the French Open in Paris last week to Wang Xin, Li Xuerui (photo) was all fired up and had no compatriots standing in her way, and former Chinese citizen Yao Jie – coached by another of her former compatriots, Xu Huaiwen – did not have the legs to fight against the youngster. The match was a one-sided fight with Li trouncing Yao 21-8, 21-9.

On the opposite, the mixed doubles was an amazing battle between Chan Peng Soon / Goh Liu Ying and Thomas Laybourn / Kamilla Rytter Juhl. The four players played overtime while the spectators had no clue who would win the match. The Danes had the edge and the experience few times in the decider leading 19-15, then again getting 4 match points, but the young Malaysians hung in there and finally took the match 21-18, 14-21, 27-25 after 1h13 minutes of intense battle.

The women’s doubles crown went to Japan’s top seeds Fujii and Kakiiwa who beat Sweden’s unseeded pair of Lennartson/Wengberg 21-8, 21-11.

Results
MD: Bodin Issara / Maneepong Jongjit (THA) bt Liu Xiaolong / Qiu Zihan (CHN) [6]  21-14, 21-16
WD: Mizuki Fujii / Reika Kakiiwa (JPN) [1] bt Emelie Lennartsson / Emma Wengberg (SWE)  21-8, 21-11
WS: Li Xuerui (CHN) [4] bt Yao Jie (NED) [7]  21-8, 21-9
XD: Chan Peng Soon / Goh Liu Ying (MAS) [8] bt Thomas Laybourn / Kamilla Rytter Juhl (DEN) [3]  21-18, 14-21, 27-25
MS: Hans-Kristian Vittinghus (DEN) [4] bt Wang Zhengming (CHN) [3]  21-18, 21-10

Full results HERE