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All England Round Up
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This week's feature
Brian Mantel, alias Badman! | |
…with Badman
You might, with incredible perseverance, or a metal detector, find a needle in a haystack. As to finding an English singles player in the third round of the All England, don’t even bother to look. Only three of our men actually made it past round one, although England No1.
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Well...
Aamir Ghaffar, who has had some credible international results including making the last sixteen at the World Championships, did beat a bona fide Chinese player. It may be unkind to mention that Zhang Yi was a qualifier, and didn’t put up much resistance. Ghaffar fell to the ninth seed in round two.
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Aamir Ghaffar |
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Toby Honey | |
but…
perhaps our players are just unlucky? Toby Honey had a fairly easy first round draw, meeting Ireland Scott Evans, whom he duly pummelled. However, he had the sixth seed Kenneth Jonassen in round two, who duly pummelled him. (In fairness, Jonassen is one of the very best).
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Even when they think they are lucky, they are not. Nathan Rice must have been delighted to draw an English qualifier in round one; unluckily, he lost.
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Kenneth Jonassen |
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Boonsak Ponsana | |
The only information I can give you on Carl Baxter is that he qualified for the All England, beating a Korean on the way, and then beat England’s Nathan Rice in round one. (Oh, yes, he lost in the next round to the twelfth seed, Boonsak Ponsana (Thailand), who had earlier accounted for England’s Andrew Smith in three sets).
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Whilst this is good news for Mr.Baxter, it is clearly not so promising for my old friend Mr. Rice, what with the English National just around the corner. In my opinion, Nathan gave Aamir Ghaffar his toughest test at last year’s nationals, but unless Carl Baxter is some unknown superstar, Nathan must be struggling for form just now.
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Nathan Rice |
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Tracy Hallam | |
Same story…
The story wasn’t much different in the women’s event, where Tracy Hallam was seeded eight, but lost in her first match (albeit very narrowly) to an unseeded player from Chinese Taipei. Julie Pittard actually won a game to reach round two, but was comfortably despatched by Dane Julianne Schenk. Julie Mann and current National Champion Elizabeth Cann both exited in round one.
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To put this in perspective, there wasn’t a single European-born player in round three of the singles who wasn’t Danish, and only four of them. Semi-finalist Mia Audina and Pi Hongyan, representing the Netherlands and France respectively, are both of Eastern origin, and learned the game outside Europe. And they say we are narrowing the gap.
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Pi Hongyan |
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Simon Archer | |
Round three…
We only had one pair in round three of the Men’s Doubles, namely Blair and Clarke, who were comfortably removed by Chinese pair Gao and Xie. Simon Archer, playing in his last All England (he says), was very unlucky not to make round three, as he and the ever-improving David Lindley were only just beaten by fourth seeds Luluk Hadiyanto and Alvent Yulianto of Indonesia.
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Archer, whilst claiming that this is his last All England, still wants to break Mike Tredgett’s record of 15 national titles (they are tied at present). Beyond that he has no ambitions other than to represent England in the Commonwealth Games (March) and the World Championships in 2007. Then there’s always the Europeans later that year... I suspect there could be more retirements here than Ol’ Blue Eyes, but Archer will quit when he knows he can’t perform any more. At the moment, he can.
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David Lindley |
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Natalie Munt | |
Not much to say…
There isn’t much to say about the ladies doubles, so I won’t say much. Natalie Munt and Suzzane Rayappan had the typical English luck, drawing the top seeds (and eventual winners) in round one. Joanne Nicholas, whom I do not know, and Ella Tripp also lost in round one, but Gail Emms and Donna Kellog made the quarterfinals, which is quite respectable in this event.
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They lost quite badly (15/9,15/1) to the seventh seeds, whom you will be amazed to learn were Chinese. However, Emms and Kellog were seeded four, and should have been good enough to make the semis.
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Joanne Nicholas |
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Thank goodness for Mixed Doubles. This event has always been England’s best chance of a title, and has provided our only All England wins since Nora Perry and Jane Webster won the Ladies doubles in 1980. Our last singles winner was Gillian Gilks in 1978. Mixed has allowed us to retain an air of respectability over the last 20 years, with nine titles, two of them won by English women and ‘foreign’ partners. (Thomas Kihlstrom (Sweden) in 1983 and Billy Gilliland (Scotland) in 1985 both with Nora Perry). However, there have been sizable gaps between the last three wins in 1994, 1999 and 2005.
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Suzanne Rayappan | |
Oh dear…
That accursed English luck struck again, when two English pairs met in round one. (I suppose you could look at it another way - it guaranteed a pair in round two). David Lindley and Suzanne Rayappan squeaked through against Archer and Ella Tripp.
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Not to be unkind, but a few years ago Archer could have beaten this pairing partnered by his kit bag (slight exaggeration), but that says a lot more about the improvement of the younger players than Archer’s decline. Like Natalie Munt and Tracy Hallam, Rayappan, and particularly Lindley, have improved steadily as they have got older. The only problem with this method is that you get older. Just when you think you’ve improved enough to win a few things, you’re too old. The far-eastern method is to win the All England at 19 and retire at 25.
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Ella Tripp |
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Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng stick together. | |
In contrast, fourth seeds Emms and Roberstons cruised through to the semis, where they met the Indonesian second seeds. Widianto was not really cutting the mustard (what does that mean?) when he was partnering Vita Marisa. She injured her shoulder (look at the picture of Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng for an insight into how these things happen). Teaming up with junior Lilyana Natsir, and had immediate success, winning the World Championships in 2005.
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A tall order then, as third seeded English pair faced the current World Champions in their quest to retain their title. They have been a top pair for some time now, but watching this game it seemed to me that whilst Emms is as consistent as ever serving and playing at the net, her defence continues to improve. Roberston is formidable overhead, with a range of attacking shots, but he also defended superbly, often turning defence into attack, with some particularly spectacular backhands. I also felt that he had improved his game by adding more controlled pushes. The first game was very close, but the home pairing took it 15/12, and were more comfortable in winning the second 15/4. Widianto showed his frustration by smashing a racquet, earning himself a yellow card in the process.
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Emms and Robertson |
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Zhang Jun | |
Confident…
At that point, having reviewed their earlier results and having seen them beat the World Champions, I was pretty confident that they could retain their title, a feat not achieved by any English pair since Mike Tredgett and Nora Perry in 81/82.
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However, when Zhang Jun and Gao Ling beat the top seeded Koreans Lee and Lee in the other semi-final, I could not avoid the odd twinge of doubt.
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Gao Ling |
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No glory…
There’s no question that the Chinese pair have a better record in winning finals than Emms and Robertson, whom they beat in that memorable Olympic final. Unfortunately, that proved to be the case again, as they survived five match points to wrest the tile from the English holders in Sunday’s final. That’s how close Emms and Robetson came to glory, but glory is all about taking your chances. That uncharacteristic miss at the front from Emms which might have cost them the Olympic title is no doubt etched in her mind - and mine. This game will take some getting over too.
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Gail Emms | |
In the post-match press conference Robertson said, “During the tournament we played almost perfect badminton - apart from five points.” He must have forgotten the third game, which they lost 15/1; well, you’d want to wouldn’t you? I have heard that Robertson was suffering from an injury that he hadn’t quite recovered from, which may account for that score. I also understand that Gail was so ill before the tournament that she almost pulled out. Emms and Robertson are definitely good enough to win major events, but there’s a difference between being good enough to win and winning. I hope they are not going to develop that very English trait of being brave runners-up. I can’t see anyone else winning the Nationals, but I think Commonwealth Gold is a must for them to regain their momentum.
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Three courts were used in the semis, and at one point Denmark’s Peter Gade was playing Lee Hyun from Korea, whilst on the adjacent court Gao & Huang played Wei and Zhang. I wondered aloud to my three companions how many people were actually watching the doubles, adding, perhaps somewhat unnecessarily, “Their mother’s.”
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Peter Gade |
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Lee Hyun | |
Not sexist…
I felt I’d better explain to the young lady in my group that my remark was not sexist. I didn’t think people would be watching because it was women’s doubles, rather because in was (another) all-Chinese women’s doubles. It is up to the rest of the world to step up and break the Chinese stranglehold on the women’s game, but three out of four Chinese pairs in the semis, and an all-Chinese final does not make for much excitement. Thus, I felt most eyes were on Peter Gade, doing his bit for European unity.
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Supporting the underdog…
It is odd, but even the kind of people who would vote for anyone who would take us out of Europe support Danes in the All England when all the Brits are gone. Are they racist? I don’t think they are. Sometimes they are doing the ‘underdog’ thing, although Gade, at four, was seeded one place higher than Lee. Sometimes I think we believe that if a Dane can beat the far Eastern players, one of ours might. That is very faulty logic, believe that that is one of the reasons we all become European at All England time.
Personally, I just support whoever is playing the Chinese, which is not that I have anything against the Chinese at all - it is just that it would be nice if someone else won occasionally. If Korea or Malaysia starts to win everything I will support the Chinese. If England is winning everything, I shall, of course, support England, whilst considering voluntarily admitting myself to an asylum to treat my delusions.
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However…
there was only one Chinese player in the semis of the men’s singles, and Lin Dan was taken all the way by the excellent Malaysian, Lee Chong Wei, surviving a match point and taking the third 17/14. Gade played an almost faultless first set against Lee Hyun, winning 15/3, with a minimum of errors.
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Lin Dan |
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Lee Chong Wei | |
Unfortunately, in the next two sets the reverse was true. All the Danish shots which had been going over and in were suddenly not. The Korean completely turned things around, winning 8/15 and taking the third to 1, with Gade frankly looking like he’d given up.
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The women's semi's
The women’s semis were intriguing, with the top two Chinese women Zhang Ning and Xie Xingfang, seeded one and two respectively, playing ‘Europeans’ of Asian origin. Zhang faced Pi Hongyan, representing France, which was a close affair, with the top seed winning a high quality match 11/3, 9/11, 11/3.
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Zhang Ning |
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Xie Xingfang | |
Zhang could probably say that she was never in danger of losing with more justification than Roger Federer could after his narrow victory over Haas in the Austrailian Open. (The Badman finger is on the sporting pulse 27/7).
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The other women’s semi featured my favourite player Mia Audina, a Dutch Reformed player, facing Xie Xingfang. Audina is an enigma. Compared to the rest her movement is poor, sometimes she just doesn’t seem to move at all, being left flat footed and completely beaten by a very good shot. But compared to the rest her racquet skills are awesome. Sometimes her opponents just don’t seem to move at all being left flat footed and completely beaten by a very good shot...
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Mia Audina |
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Audina’s head does not come above the net, which means that flat clearing onto her backhand rarely elicits a backhand, and she is deadly round the head. She won the first 13/11, with a combination of outstanding shots and deception bordering on sorcery. Unfortunately, the fitness of the diminutive Dutch damsel is doubtful. After going a few points behind in the second, she seemed to be playing for the five minute break, not going for anything the least bit difficult. At what everyone thought was game point Audina hit a clear and started to walk of before her opponent hit the reply. Bizarrely, although both players went off, they had to return for one more point. The third was closer, but Audina simply could not keep it up, losing 7/11 to set up - you guessed it - an all-Chinese final.
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Mohammed Tazari | |
In the very exciting men’s doubles semi-final, second seeded Danish pair Eriksen and Lundgaard-Hansen came back from well behind to take the first 17/14 against the unseeded Malasians Abdul Latif and Gan. The Danes won the second 15/9.
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There were two unseeded Malasian pair in the other semi-final, Lin and Tazari, and Choong and Lee, who, much to my annoyance, knocked out top seeds Sigit Budiarto and Chandra Wijaya, my favourite pair to watch.
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Abdul Latif |
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Martin Lungaard-Hansen | |
Choong and Lee won 15/8, 15/7, in a fast, exciting game where the scores didn’t quite reflect the quality. The Malasians proved no match for the in-form Danes in the final, although they did manage to win the second in setting. The Danes crushed them 15/2 in the final set, making it two titles in three years for Martin Lungaard-Hansen.
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Lin Dan won the men’s singles, although he literally slipped up, injuring himself in the second set. He was far enough ahead for it not to matter, winning 15/7, 15/7. Xie Xingfang added to Zhang Ning’s frustration by beating her in the women’s final, 6/11, 11/4, 2/11, making it ten years that Zhang Ning has played here without winning, having won just about everything else. The Chinese won the women’s doubles - Gao and Huang, as it happens, making the seeding committee happy.
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Lin Dan loses his head |
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Once again the All England proved to be a shop window for the spectacular talents of the world’s best players. However, the English point of view is that of the hapless window-shopper longingly looking through the glass at Harrods (probably in the rain) at the riches he (or she) can never have. Never mind; there’s always Matalan.
Badman
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