Jung/Lee defeated Chan/Koo in a tight three sets, while Fu/Cai, even if they gave Bach/Gunawan a duck in the first, had to win 15-11 in the third. So, it will be an even Den v Ina, Kor v Chn in the MD, Malaysia losing out among the big guns, having been kicked out by Kidho/Setiawan and Jung/Lee. In the WS, it is a good sign that none of the winners had it easy. The favourites were stretched but only one upset occured. I mentioned before that for this year, we have to look out for Japanese girls (the badminton sort, I mean ), but I did not expect such a quick rise. Beating Zhou Mi is quite a big deal (even if it does not mean you can always beat Zhou, at least you are equal to that task). The semifinal is very interesting for this event, Zhang v Hirose and Xie v Pi. In the mixed doubles, the favourites advanced in straight sets. In the WD, the big news is that Lee Kyung Won/Lee Hyo Jung finally defeated the World No 1, reversing the emotionally-devastating result in Singapore. Just when I lamented the fact that all the top spots will be claimed by China, here comes a pair from Korea that can grab the very top spot in WD. To further dispel that notion, Chin/Wong fought to a 8-15, 17-16, 17-16 (must have been feisty) victory over Du/Yu, proclaiming that the rest of the world will not give in so easily either. However as far as I can tell, only one Korean pair, one Thai pair, one Malaysian pair and one Taiwanese pair can hold the fort for the moment. Will they hold out, will reinforcements arrive, or will the fort be overrun by the Chinese multitude? In the MS, it truly is (Li Mao v Misbun) v Li Yongbo. It is heartening that Wong Choon Hann did not lose that easily (as did Lee TS earlier), so perhaps under Li Mao, the veterans are starting on their second wind. According to the score, Xia gave out a bit easily.
We see stiff competition in German Open so far, no domination by any country in any event until this stage. More mouth-watering encounters are coming up in today's semifinal. In WD will China's Gao/Huang turn the tables on the in form Korea's Lee/Lee and will Malaysia's Chin/Wong continue their winning streak in the semifinal? The Malaysian beat the Chinese pair in Singapore Open last year. In WS, the match of the day has to be between Zhang Ning and Hirose , Hirose looks unstoppable this time. I predict an Indo vs Korea in the MD final, while in XD, China's Zhang/Gao should take on Korea's Lee/Lee in the final. The final match between Lin Dan and CW Lee is on the cards and is highly anticipated!
However, Hafiz Hashim is in top form, too. So although Lee Chong Wei is also in a good shape, we have to consider Hafiz. Lin Dan should not be sure about his victory over Bao Chunlai. But any constellation would be extremely interesting in MS. I will be there tomorrow.
