The first-ever edition of the YONEX Luxembourg Open closed with a finals day where European players secured four out of the five gold medals.
The new YONEX Luxembourg Open 2022, a BWF International Series tournament, had a great debut in the European Circuit. The first edition was a success in which fans got to enjoy European and international talent in Luxembourg City. Here’s who got to become the first-ever champions of the event.
Two gold for Denmark
Indonesia was present in four out of the five finals at the tournament, all categories except for men’s singles. It was an all-Danish fight for the gold between top seeded Mads Christophersen and number four seed Magnus Johannesen.
To get to the final, Christophersen had to get past Grégoire Deschamp who took the match to three games, to then also take out seeded players Jonathan Dolan and Aram Mahmoud. Waiting for him in the deciding match was Johannesen, the recently crowned Dutch international champion who had also had to face tough opposition on his way to the final, including a clash against fellow Dane Ditlev Jaeger Holm.
The two Danish players had faced each other a total of three times in the last year, with Christophersen leading the head-to-head with three wins. Their last encounter at the Welsh International was a similar affair; a three-game match that had Christophersen taking the win again, to also take what will be his first gold of the year.
Christophersen was not Denmark’s only gold at Luxembourg. Third-seeded duo Andreas Søndergaard/ Jesper Toft got off to a good start with a win against England’s Chua Yue Chern/ William Jones, and it was all straight games from there.
However, Muh Putra Erwiansyah/ Patra Harapan Rindorindo, Indonesia, Stockholm Junior 2022 champions, didn’t make it so easy for the Danish pair. The Indonesian duo stepped it up on the second game, being really close to winning it, but Søndergaard/ Toft sealed the deal on time to take the title in two games, 21-15 23-21.
England and France, victorious against a strong Indonesian side
Lucas Corvee/ Sharone Bauer started with being promoted from the main draw and had to face fellow other French players at the event — Mael Cattoen/ Camille Pognante and Nicolas Hoareau, who partnered with Estonia’s Ramona Üprus.
Indonesia’s Verrell Yustin Mulia/ Bernadine Anindiya Wardana, Stockholm Junior 2022 runner-ups, gave a good fight against the French duo in the final but had to settle for the silver, 21-18, 17-21, 22-20. Another Indonesian pair who won the silver was that of Titis Maulida Rahma/ Bernadine Anindiya Wardana, who encountered tough opposition in the final.
Abbygael Harris/ Hope Warner, the English third seeds, first had to defeat Indonesia’s Puspa Rosalia Damayanti/ Jessica Maya Rismawardani to be in for the fight for the gold. The English pair delivered and did so again against Rahma/ Wardana in the final to take the title, 16-21, 21-16, 22-20.