MD - First Round - Second day, more surprises yet to come

Indonesia’s men’s doubles have witnessed the generation change but have never disappointed their badminton supporters.  ALFIAN / ADRIANTO sit tightly on the fifth highest chair on the men’s doubles podium and they were not intimidated by their Indian challengers. 21/15, not a surprising first gain for the Indonesians, neither would it be the second then 21/16, another Indonesian pair locked their place for next round.

The German brothers looked forward to showing the Europeans their high quality games, especially after LAMSFUSS’s loss yesterday.  The chance may have played its tour, but the ability and level were clearly alongside. Regardless of their 0-1 defeat facing the Thai players, they managed to play a very good game. 18/21, 21/19, 22/20, one more European ticket for round 16.

The world ranking may sometimes prove the level, but in this match, it’s nothing but a number. The young Chinese pair WANG/LIANG is only 37th in the world while their rivals from Malaysia were seeded number 4.  CHIA / SOH’s high speed jump smashes always got them out of trouble but it did not work well during this match. On the Chinese side, LIANG / WANG’s strategy was pretty clear since the beginning of the game : enhancing the attacks and making their rivals run full court.  21/13, 21/14, definitely not the best show from the Malaysians today ! 

Not an easy match for the Olympians from Denmark today, this battle between the World N.7 and the World N.10 offered the audience a delightful first game 21/19,  but the Malaysians then showed their patience and toughness when they were forced to defend. They magically counter attacked several powerful smashes from the Danes,  21/10, the Scandinavian brothers had to end their journey this time. Congratulations to Malaysia for a new entry ticket.