This last month saw most of the top players gather in the coldness of Europe - Switzerland, Germany and then England - for some fierce battles and incredible matches, with, for all, one idea in mind : slowly build up for one of their main targets this year : The Thomas and Uber Cup finals held in Tokyo and Sendai in May.

It was quite striking. During the press interviews of all players who had succeeded in any of the three tournaments in Europe in January, each time, they mentioned the Thomas and Uber Cup as one of their main goals for this year. Those three tournaments started off in Swizerland, first, where Denmark and Malaysia had sent their best players, while some of the top shuttlers from China and Indonesia stayed at home a little longer. Not all Chinese skipped this event, however, as Xia Xuanze, the most capped Chinese player seemed to be back in great shape. He went all the way to the final, beating no other than Peter Gade in the semi final. Yet the 2003 world champion was not good enough for the other man in form, Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, who beat him in no time, 15/8 - 15/0, showing every type of strokes along the way. His compatriots, Koo and Chan struck a second time for Malaysia on final day when they outplayed Boe and Mogensen in an extraordinary final, in three tight games , which saw the Malaysian catch back from 8/14 in the decider, after saving many match points. This Swiss Open was the first event played by the Danish new pairs after the split up from Paaske and Rasmussen, who have now as partners Thomas Laybourn and Peter Steffensen respectively. They were both eliminated at the quarter final stage, which obviously was a good sign of efficiency for their first outing (Laybourn was injured and had to pull out). This is a good hint for Denmark that they can definitely count on 4 good pairs for the Thomas Cup in Tokyo.

In the ladies single, Xu Huawein performed well by clinching gold, few months after her amazing Bronze medal in the World Championships, but the main surprise came from the stunning tournament from China’s youngster Zhu Lin, who beat no other than Pi Hongyan of France, leaving the top seed with only 5 points in the whole match. A clear message that China is already preparing for the 2012 Olympics and further editions of the Uber Cup. The ladies double event was also won by a Chinese pair, when Du and Yu beat their compatriots Zhang Yan and Zhao Tingting. The mixed double in Switzerland saw an All English final with Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms proving their top form against compatriots Blair and Munt.

A week before the awaited All England saw the best Chinese make the trip to Mulheim an Ruhr, in Germany, for the second leg of the European tour. This time, it was Denmark’s top flight which stayed home, leaving a road wide open to the Chinese stars, especially after another guest of honour, Taufik Hidayat, had pulled out because he was preparing his wedding at home. Yet if all the top Chinese were in Germany, there was an unexpected winner in the name of Chen Jin, double world junior champion, who stunned all his opponents including Chen Hong in the final of the men single category. The latter had beaten world’s number one Lin Dan in the semi final. As the young generation was showing signs of clear progress, it was another young Chinese, Lu Lan, who impressed everyone, beating players like Xu Huawein and mostly Xie Xingfang before bowing to her elder compatriot and Olympic champion Zhang Ning in the final. China struck twice more with the mixed double Zhang and Gao beating World’s Silver medallist and training partners Xie and Zhang, while Yang/Zhang took gold in the ladies double event against another Chinese pair Gao and Huang. The only event which didn’t fall into the hands of Li Yongbo’s players was the men’s double, with Korea’s Jung and Lee as final winners of a beautiful contest, winning over England’s Clark and Blair in their last match, after beating Cai and Fu earlier on.

The third and final leg of the tour took place in the mythical National Indoor Arena, in Birmingham, where the All England Badminton Championships has been played ever since its move from Wembley. And once again, the probable best Grand Prix event on the planet badminton gave its share of surprises. First of all because the crowd showed great interest - a 5000 strong crowd was there to cheer for their heroes from the quarter finals onwards. Secondly, because this edition more than ever showed that a match is never over until the match point has been completed. Both Lee Chong Wei and the pair Robertson/Emms learned it at their expenses. The Malaysian, in his incredible semi final against Lin Dan of China was just one point away from his all England final, when he led 14/13 in the decider. Yet the Chinese was obviously too strong in his head and finally won, before taking his title back - he had won there in 2004 - against Lee Hyun Il of Korea, who had stunned Denmark’s Peter Gade in the other semi final. Gade had a dream start in this match but the consistency of the defence of his opponent added to the slow pace of the shuttles made the third game a nightmare for the Dane - he lost 1/15 in the decider - and shattered his best chance to win the title 7 years after his first and only success in this event.

The other ones who learned the hard way that a match is never over were Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms, home heroes and definitely one of the clear favourites to retain their crown. The scenario was perfect throughout the whole tournament, as they beat some tough pairs with their usual inspiration in very close games, including world’s gold medallists Widianto and Natsir of Indonesia. And the dream final against China’s Zhang and Gao, who had beaten them in the final of the Olympic almost turned out to be the ideal happy ending for the glamorous English duo. Almost. Because, after a great start, the English led one game to nothing and … 14/12 in front of an ecstatic public, cheering mostly for their compatriots, but with a great part also supporting the Chinese, with the strong Asian community in Birmingham. Yet on court, the battle of the minds went the other way, with the Chinese playing very strongly to save no less than 5 match points before taking the second game 17/14. After this psychological disaster, the English were left heartbroken and let go with the decider, lost 1/15. The dream of a nation to see a revenge of the Olympic at home had vanished and Zhang and Gao were the heroes of the day.

In the ladies single, Xie Xingfang doubled her World Championship gold and beat, just like in Anaheim, her compatriot Zhang Ning, depriving the latter from the only important title she is missing. On the contrary, Gao Ling and Huang Sui broke their own record with a sixth consecutive title in Birmingham, beating their usual final opponents, Yang and Zhang. Last but not least, the men’s double category showed that age and experience could prevail over youth and power, when the two finalists were Eriksen and Lundgaard of Denmark on one side, and Malaysia’s Lee and Choong on the other, both pairs considered as the veterans in their own country. If Malaysia had three pairs in the last four (including two young pairs), it was finally the Danes who won the tournament after an uneven match and suspense full second game, where the Malaysians caught back from 8/13 to get a chance to play overtime. But the Danes were stronger in their minds and took the rubber game for a rematch of the 2004 final.

This European tour came to an end with great winners over all, who will all participate in the Thomas and Uber Cup finals. China looked stronger than ever, with no less than 5 girls under 20 year old who are already talented enough to take over the elder generation and who could play in lesser important matches in Tokyo or Sendai. Malaysia has sent out clear signs that their Thomas Cup campaign had started, with Lee Chong Wei definitely on top of his game, and 4 pairs able to beat the top pairs in the world. Denmark’s new pairing seem to be promising with Jens Eriksen who announced he would continue at least until the world championships - which includes the Thomas Cup. Tine Rasmussen’s come back after a 9 month injury is good news for the Danish Uber Cup team, while Korea also looked like their preparation for both Thomas and Uber Cup has already started as well. Japan, on their side, have done really well also, with no less than 4 quarter final spots in the All England, with two ladies doubles and 2 singles, showing that the hosts are also preparing well for their event. All this sounds very promising when all of them will fight with their country’s shirt to defend in the Thomas and Uber Cup, less than three months away…

Raphael Sachetat

【Results】