INDIA OPEN 2014 QF – Nothing to be upset about

No upsets were recorded as badminton’s finest proponents in New Delhi shifted into quarter-final gear. Rather, the suspense and anticipation is building heavily for Saturday’s showdowns as several players crushed closely ranked or quality opponents, which portends towards the upsets they could deliver in the next 48 hours.

By Aaron Wong.  Photos: Badmintonphoto (live)

Done and dusted in half an hour

Jan O Jorgensen repeated the devastating form from a day earlier against Korea’s Lee Dong Keun. The Dane efficiently stamped his authority all over Takuma Ueda (pictured) of Japan in a way that flashes the new personal best level of which he has been displaying glimpses, on and off, in the past twelve months but has hitherto yet to sustain from week to week.  Jorgensen showed Ueda the door in a quick 21-11, 21-13.

In mixed doubles, three-time India Open Superseries champions Lilyana Natsir / Tontowi Ahmad (pictured) continued to consolidate their status as overwhelming tournament favourites as they feared nothing that the tallest duo, Denmark’s Kamilla Rytter-Juhl / Mads Pieler Kolding – both of whom are over six feet – had in their arsenal.  Their 21-15, 21-9 took only 33 minutes.

No less businesslike, perenial world #3 pair Christinna Pedersen and Joachim Fischer Nielsen grew in confidence and unbelievably proved far too irresistible for the Thais Saralee Prapakamol / Sudket Prapakamol, and won by a blistering 21-5 in the second game.

Nothing to be upset about

There was no shame in the way three performances, though full of promise, fell by the wayside on Friday. Malaysia’s latest mixed doubles anomaly Chan Peng Soon / Lai Pei Jing resumed their three-game resistance, this time against Korea’s Ko Sung Hyun / Kim Ha Na.  They merely failed to come up with a successful plan B, and fell 15-21, 21-19, 10-21.

Kim and Pedersen managed to become the only double winners on the day and will do battle in the women’s doubles semi-finals on Saturday after Pedersen and Rytter Juhl took on their role as top seeds with relish.  Their opponents, Zhao Yunlei and Tian Qing, Olympic champions relegated to underdog status, were unable to prevent a third straight defeat at the hands of the Danes.

Cheng Wen Hsing and Hsieh Pei Chen (pictured bottom) of Chinese Taipei stood their ground for most of the time against China’s latest “musical chairs” women’s doubles formation, Yu Yang / Tang Yuanting. Each team’s elder stateswoman, Cheng and Yu, showed her younger partner in crime how to be brave, with the Taiwan pair relatively more defensive and patient while the Chinese played themselves into the match more energetically and won it 21-15, 12-21, 15-21.

Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen made observers forget his “still young” label as he played with assured maturity to save a match point in the second game and proceed to almost topple China’s Du Pengyu (pictured). The once-again lucky Chinese 7th seed, so excellent at “head down” diligence, thought of nothing else except holding on to a two-point buffer once he earned it in order to deny the impressive Dane and pull out the , 21-11, 22-24, 21-19 victory.

For these particular winners and losers highlighted, their performances in today’s India Open Superseries quarter-finals are a teaser of greater things to follow in their careers.

Click here for complete quarter-final results