England has won the all European tie against Denmark today, 3-2 at the BWF TOTAL Sudirman Cup in Nanning, China.
This is the first time that England has beaten their European rivals at a team tournament.
Denmark will now play against Indonesia, on Wednesday, to decide who goes through to the next stage.
Four very close matches
With England having a tough day yesterday against Indonesia and won just one of four matches, the team came into today with a point to prove to their European opponents, Denmark.
That showed throughout, from the beginning, England was in this to win it, and won the first match in three games. Marcus Ellis/Lauren Smith representing England against Mathias Christiansen/Sara Thygesen from Denmark.
The second match was Europe’s best player on the World Rankings, Viktor Axelsen against an up and coming Toby Penty who is one to watch for the future. Axelsen managed the match but did suffer some hiccups, as Penty took advantage and took the match to three games which the Dane eventually won.
As the tie could not be settled, it was down to Mia Blichfeldt or Chloe Birch in the Women’s Singles category. Blichfeldt, fresh from winning the LI-NING Denmark Challenge 2019, was controlled in her performance and won in straight games against Birch who reached the final of the Denmark Challenge in Women’s Doubles, with Lauren Smith.
The top European Men’s Doubles pair in Europe Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen was forced to fight for points against Marcus Ellis/Chris Langridge. The Englishmen took full advantage of some cheap points form the Danes and won in three games in a match that exceeded 100 minutes of fantastic badminton.
After both of the countries could not be separated, the Women’s Doubles match was the decider, which also went the distance, but Lauren Smith/Chloe Birch from England stood strong and took the point for their side, giving England the win in the overall tie.
Other European victories
Germany, France, Netherlands and Switzerland have all won their ties today, along with England.
Germany was in a close matchup with Singapore have won 3-2 with the Men’s Doubles deciding the tie.
France played this morning against Vietnam and won 4-1, with the only defeat coming in the Women’s Singles.
Other countries from Europe who won today included the Netherlands who beat USA 5-0 and Switzerland who won 4-1 against Lithuania.