SUDIRMAN CUP 2013 Play-offs – Scotland 13th in the 13th

In the final round of Levels 2 and 3, where the teams play for the top of their respective divisions, Scotland defeated Netherlands for the first place of Level 2, and Vietnam ousted Ukraine to top Level 3.

By Ooi Ee Lyn, Badzine Correspondent live in Kuala Lumpur. Photos: Badmintonphoto (live)

In the lower divisions at the Sudirman Cup 2013, Scotland – ranked 7^th out of eight teams in Level 2 – beat higher ranked Netherlands to claim the 13^th place in this 13th edition of the mixed team event. Robert Blair contributed to two out of three points for Scotland – with Imogen Bankier in the mixed doubles, and Paul van Rietvelde (photo) in the men’s doubles. The last point for Scotland was a thriller as the Dutch had numerous opportunities to close down the second game before the Scotts finally nailed it 30-28. Dutch Open 2012 champion Eric Pang was the sole contributor for Netherlands, winning in the men’s singles.

“This is a great victory for us. We knew before coming that we wouldn’t be promoted to group 1 even if we topped group 2, because these are the rules and we accepted it, but I wanted my team to leave Kuala Lumpur undefeated, and this is what we’ve achieved. They can be proud and it’s a great sign one year before the Commonwelath Games,” said John Quinn, head coach for Scotland.

Russia, who was part of the elite division in Qingdao, is now 15^th after defeating former 14^th France 3-0. Finishing in places 17 to 20 are Sweden, Canada, USA and Austria.

Vietnam, with her young women’s singles player Nguyen Thuy Linh (photo) crawled two ranks up from the previous edition of the Sudirman Cup, topping Level 3 to get the 21^st place in Kuala Lumpur by defeating Ukraine 3-1. Australia settled as the 24^th, losing to Philippines, while Switzerland claimed the 25^th by outplaying New Zealand 3-2. Sri Lanka and Turkey took spots 27 and 29 by triumphing over Lithuania and Kazakhstan, respectively.

Play-offs results:
Level 2
13^th/14^th place – Scotland beat Netherlands 3-1
15^th/16^th place – Russia beat France 3-0
17^th/18^th place – Sweden beat Canada 3-2
19^th/20^th place – USA beat Austria 3-0
Level 3
21^st/22^nd place – Vietnam beat Ukraine 3-1
23^rd/24^th place – Philippines beat Australia 3-2
25^th/26^th place – Switzerland beat New Zealand 3-2
27^th/28^th place – Sri Lanka beat Lithuania 3-1
29^th/30^th place – Turkey beat Kazakhstan 3-0

All results HERE