On a finals day dominated by quality Asian shuttlers, Marcus Ellis and Gabby White proved their continued desire to win as a pair as they lifted the mixed doubles title in a two set victory over Dutch duo Selena Piek and Ruud Bosch.
In what is their second last tournament together, after it was announced that White will partner her fiancé Chris Adcock from January, the English duo dominated their final which proved just one step too far for their Dutch opponents.

The English tactically chose to play with the drift in the opening game which proved to be critical in the outcome of the match as Piek in particular struggled to handle the conditions from a Dutch perspective. The English duo eked out a 17-14 lead and even in the midst of a spirited first game fight back by the Dutch, Ellis and White held fast to take the opening game 21-16

“We got off to a good start in the opening game and managed to get a lead of a few points that proved to be critical come the end” said Ellis to Badminton Europe.

The second game played out in very much the same way as the opening game as the Dutch threw in some flick serves to White in an attempt to break their dominance at the front court. It all proved fruitless for Bosch and Piek in the end as the English duo lifted their second title of the year with a 21-16 win in the second set.

“I was conscious that they would try and flick serve me at some point but that is one of my strengths and it is something that we dealt with effectively. I think they tried it three times in a row and each time I managed a winner of the serve which was crucial.” commented Gabby White to Badminton Europe.
The English duo now head to Cardiff for the Welsh International in their final tournament as a pair and will be looking to go out with a bang and lift a hat trick of titles this season.

“It’s almost the end of the road for us so in some ways the pressure is off and we will go to Cardiff looking to take the title there and go out with a bang” said a reflective Ellis.

The women’s singles title went to the outstanding player of the week in Glasgow and for the second time this year Sayaka Takahashi won on European soil. The Japanese shuttler dominated her final against Kim of Korea and in just 25 minutes sent the Korean packing with a 21-6 21-8 victory. Both doubles finals were an all Japanese affair with the men’s going to third seeds Kamura and Sonoda while the lower ranked Fukuman and Yonao defeated their higher seeded compatriots Koharu and Miki in two straight games to claim the women’s doubles title.

The last match on court saw Anand Pawar add to the title he won in 2010 in a thrilling three set win over Sakai from Japan in the men’s singles final.

Finally credit must go out to BADMINTONscotland as they set the new benchmark for tournament organisation and presentation on the European circuit. The attention to detail and the product produced was akin to the best super series events out there and provided a spectacle for the biggest crowd of recent years at a finals day of a Badminton Europe circuit event.

For all results click HERE.
To revisit all the finals from Glasgow’s Emirates Arena on BETV click HERE.
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Article and Image by Mark Phelan (Live in Glasgow)