FINAL (
12.00pm) =>
https://www.tournamentsoftware.com/...A9F3CE-A822-49C8-A58A-BF165D73CB64&d=20200315
Two final spots each for four nations, China-Chinese Taipei-Indonesia-Japan. Denmark and Thailand representative fill the remaining two slots.
JAPAN-CHINA AFFAIR
A good prospect for Japan number two to grab one of badminton prestigious titles since lost thrice in World Championships final. They look stable along this tournament and won last three meetings against final opponents Du Y/Li YH who save China blushes in this category in the setback of world number one and defending champion Chen/Jia. Fukushima/Hirota eliminate the Olympic Champion Matsumoto/Takahashi convincingly, 21-12 / 21-12 while second-ranked Chinese combination tackle Lee SH/Shin SC, thanks to their good tactic, didn't lift shuttlecock too much instead of playing flat drive and fast interception from front area.
AXELSEN TO EXCEL
Viktor Axelsen snatches final spot once again in the oldest tournament, he experienced very tough battle to eliminate Malaysian new leading man Lee Zii Jia, it could go either way in gruelling 73 minutes of play, really close contest until 19-19 then Lee net shot got fault by the umpire and the winning momentum shifted swiftly to former world champion. A similar type of play between these two tall men to bombard each other with lethal smashes that preceded by long rallies. On contrary, Chou Tien Chen only spent brief time, 26 minutes to complete his semifinal match following Anders Antonsen retired, hurt his right ankle and wheel-chaired off the court. Head to head stats favour to Axelsen but we never know whether the lucky charm took sides to the Taiwanese, Chou has relatively comfortable draw, never meet the seeded player until semifinal but Antonsen injured.
INDONESIA MOMENTUM
Ellis/Smith gallant run must end in final four, they replicated second game turnaround when the Indonesian pair had hefty lead but losing narrowly, 21-23. But Jordan/Oktavianti were unfazed and displaying excellent form in deciding game, 21-11. Second time for Praveen Jordan to reach All England final after 2016 edition, this time with different partner and look like they have winning momentum particularly after reversed the fortune against toughest foes Wang/Huang at quarterfinal. Dechapol/Taerattanachai prevail in roller coaster and fast furious match to topple Koreans Seo SJ/Chae YJ, really physical demanding tie. Thai aces should be wary to final opponents, suffered defeat in last three encounters.
2019 FINAL REPLAY
It's fourth straight All England final for Tai Tzu Ying, she looks so composed and calm to outwit one of top contenders Carolina Marin. The Spanish had trouble to control the drift and producing many uncharacteristic errors, her attacking shots weren't too effective to break Tai TY solid defense. None but defending champion Chen Yufei who will be last round hurdle for former world number one, the fully confident Chinese knows well that she could pass Nozomi Okuhara even when trailing behind most times in second game to exploit her rival weakness, pushing to baseline corner and punchs with big smash. A high quality final showdown to wait, will Tai reclaim her All England crown?
CRACKING THE CODE
The Minions dispose Lee Y/Wang CL quite smoothly who practically only could deliver decent fight in opening game and first half of second game. After interval break, Gideon/Sukamuljo show their real color to pressure Taiwanese duo with fast interception to earn point by point quickly. A daunting task for World number one to face their boogeymen Endo/Watanabe who look sharp and consistent how they beat Russian towering duo Ivanov/Sozonov. The Indonesians must thinking hard how to stop five straight losing to this Japanese pair, if Endo/Watanabe prevailed, they will create history, becoming first Japanese pair to nail men's doubles title in All England.