Viktor Axelsen’s aim of taking home of medal from the World Championships in Jakarta got off to a winning start on Monday after he defeated Czech number one shuttler and world number 49 Petr Koukal. The Dane
(main picture) beat Koukal, an opponent to whom he had never lost, in straight games 21-14, 21-11 and advanced to the second round where he will play Adrian Dziolko of Poland.
Scott Evans is also through to the second round after the Irishman came through a tough three-setter with Finland’s Eetu Heino to triumph 20-22, 21-9, 21-16. Evans needed 50 minutes on court to seal the victory.
"Quite a shaky start and had to work hard to make my game work but I managed it and I'm very happy with that. Tomorrow I will have a day of preparation for my second round match on Wednesday”, Scott Evans wrote on his official
facebook page.
England's number one Rajiv Ouseph suffered a surprise first-round defeat. The 16th seed lost 21-16 21-12 in 36 minutes to Thailand's Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk.
Lansac and Bayrak with surprise victories
Others to reach the second round in the singles categories included Raul Must, who beat Austria’s Luka Wraber in twi games, Linda Zetchiri of Bulgaria and young French player Delphine Lansac, the latter of whom beat Natalia Perminova in two games. With the help of former world number one Peter Gade on the French coaching bench, the 20 year-old played one of the best matches of her career beating the Russian in straight games 21-18, 21-18. Turkish player Özge Bayrak
(pictured) delivered a surprise victory (23-21, 21-13) over Malaysia’s Lyddia Yi Yu Cheah.
Danish female number one
Line Kjærsfeldt makes a good start in Jakarta as she beat Chloe Magee of Ireland 21-18, 21-10. “It was a good win for me today, and I'm ready for the Indian star P. V. Sindhu tomorrow. I feel confident and I believe I can win if I play my best.”
Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour was beaten by Thailand's Porntip Buranaprasertsuk in Jakarta. The Commonwealth silver medallist, 21, lost the first game 21-15 and had game point in the second at 20-18 but served long and lost 23-21.
The title holder and number one seed in the women’s singles, Carolina Marin received a bye in the first round and will kick-off her World Championships campaign tomorrow against Tee Jing Yi of Malaysia. On Saturday, Marin won the Badminton Fans' Award for the most popular international player in an opinion poll conducted by PBSI.
England's Heather Olver and Lauren Smith, the world number 24 pair, lost just six points as they advanced to the second round of the women’s doubles. They secured a confidence-boosting 21-5, 21-1 victory over Nadine Ashraf and Menna Eltanany, of Egypt.
Birgit Michels and Isabel Herttrich got off to a good start against India's Pradnya Gadre and Sikki N. Reddy. Michels/Herttrich won the opening game 21-16 but the Germans were not able to keep their level and lost in three games.
Their compatriots Michael Fuchs/Johannes Schöttler started their men's doubles campaign in style. They beat Jacco Arends/Jelle Maas of The Netherlands in two games. They will face seeded opposition in round two in the form of world class duo Fu Haifeng/Zhang Nan of China.
Tuesday's highlights:
Carolina Marin (ESP) vs Tee Jing Yi (MAS)
Artem Pochtarev (UKR) vs Sho Sasaki (JPN)
Kestutis Navickas (LTU) vs Lee Chong Wei (MAS)
Jan Ø. Jørgensen (DEN) vs Boonsak Ponsana (THA)
Hans-Kristian Vittinghus (DEN) vs Kieran Merrilees (SCO)
Ville Lång (FIN) vs Soon Wan Ho (KOR)
Henri Hurskainen (SWE) vs Wang Zhengmin (CHN)
Petya Nedelcheva (BUL) vs Li Xuerui (CHN)
Michal Rogalski (POL) vs Kenichi Tago (JPN)
Line Kjærsfeldt (DEN) vs P.V. Sindhu (IND)
Wacha/Cwalina (POL) vs Ellis/Mills (ENG)
De Ruiter/Barning (NED) vs Subaktiar/Widjaya (INA)
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Article by Manuel Rösler. Photo by BadmintonPhoto.