Badminton

Badminton: Veteran English pair conquer Denmark Open

IT may be a Covid-19 affected calendar, but Marcus Ellis-Chris Langridge of England will not mind that at all after taking the Denmark Open men's doubles title for their biggest career win to date.

The World No 22 veteran pair made the best of the opportunities as they outlasted Russia's Vladimir Ivanov-Ivan Sozonov 20-22, 21-17, 21-18 in the final in Odense yesterday.

Without several top pairs standing in their way, Ellis-Langridge, who shot to fame by taking bronze at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, enjoyed a straightforward march into the final.

But it was a tough test against the towering Russians, who were playing in their first major final since winning the All England in 2016.

Ellis-Langridge, who are also the reigning Commonwealth Games gold medallists, however, rallied after dropping the first game to take the win in 74 minutes.

It was their fourth World Tour title, but their biggest to date following three Super 100 wins in 2018.

"Against those guys, it is key to control what they are going to bring to you," said the 35-year-old Langridge.

"They are lethal in attack but not so dangerous at the start of rallies, so that was our tactic going in. They do not always let you play the way you want, so it is a big achievement for us."

Ellis added: "This is a huge tournament and to win a Super 750 is a great achievement. It's definitely going to be one of the best ones we've had."

Meanwhile, the Russians conceded that Ellis-Langridge were the better pair yesterday.

"We had a good start in the third game, but we got a little bit nervous and made too many mistakes.

"They also upped their game after the interval, and we were just not consistent enough," said Ivanov.

The Denmark Open is the first major World Tour tournament since the All England in March.

RESULTS

SEMI-FINALS — Men's singles: Rasmus Gemke (Den) bt Kenta Nishimoto (Jpn) 21-14, 21-17; Anders Antonsen (Den) bt Chou Tien Chen (Tpe) 21-17, 21-15.

Men's doubles: Marcus Ellis-Chris Langridge (Eng) bt Joel Eipe-Rasmus Kjaer (Den) 22-20, 21-16; Vladimir Ivanov-Ivan Sozonov (Rus) bt Ben Lane-Sean Vardy (Eng) 21-15, 18-21, 21-14.

Women's singles: Carolina Marin (Spa) bt Yvonne Li (Ger) 21-17, 21-11; Nozomi Okuhara (Jpn) bt Michelle Li (Can) 21-10, 21-7.

Women's doubles: Yuki Fukushima-Sayaka Hirota (Jpn) bt Christine Busch-Amalie Schulz (Den) 21-18, 21-6; Mayu Matsumoto-Wakana Nagahara (Jpn) bt Gabriela Stoeva-Stefani Stoeva (Bul) 21-17, 21-8.

Mixed doubles: Mark Lamfuss-Isabel Herttrich (Ger) bt Marcus Ellis-Lauren Smith (Eng) 21-18, 21-18; Chris Adcock-Gabrielle Adcock (Eng) bt Julien Maio-Lea Palermo (Fra) 21-12, 22-20.

FINALS

Men's doubles: Marcus Ellis-Chris Langridge (Eng) bt Vladimir Ivanov-Ivan Sozonov (Rus) 20-22, 21-17, 21-18.

Women's doubles: Yuki Fukushima-Sayaka Hirota (Jpn) bt Mayu Matsumoto-Wakana Nagahara (Jpn) 21-10, 16-21, 21-18.

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