Thomas Cup qualification preview

[The Expert]

Thomas Cup Preview

Here is my best idea on how Thomas Cup in the Netherlands will shape up for the teams.

Group A

Denmark,Israel,Scotland

Denmark to win this group without Gade playing. I think Thomson and also Goddard is improving men’s singles players but still behind any combination of Danish singles. Doubles is too good. Israel has nothing to hurt either team.

Winners – Denmark

Group B

England,Lithuania, Finland

England to win this group because doubles is so strong. Lång of Finland and Navickas of Lithuania is strong singles players and could beat English opponents after this they both struggle.

Winners – England

Group C

Germany,Norway,Estonia,Hungary

Germany to win. Zwiebler and Joppien combined with strong doubles make it too much for other teams although both Klausen of Norway and Must of Estonia is good and improving singles players. Hungary outclassed in all areas.

Winners - Germany

Group D

Poland,Bulgaria,Belgium,Portugal

Wacha and Hawel should be too strong plus good doubles. This group has potential for an upset if Wacha does not play as Tan and Jaco and Vasconcelos, Paixao are quite good at singles and Bulgaria can be strong in doubles. Still go for Poland but Wacha is key along with very strong first doubles.

Winners - Poland

Group E

France,Greece,Italy,Sweden

Between France and Sweden for this one. Leverdez is much improved but so is Sahlberg and second and third singles is well matched. On balance France doubles should win the day but it could be close. Greece and Italy has nothing to cause an upset.

Winners – France in close game

Group F

Netherlands, Slovakia, Ireland , Ukraine

This is interesting because I believe Scott Evans can beat any singles player in this group including Palyama. If Evans can win his game then Ireland has a very young team capable of causing upset with the other teams.Netherlands to win but Irland to outperform. Slovakia has no depth to hurt other teams.

Winners - Netherlands

Group G

Russia, Iceland,Turkey,Spain

Russia to destroy this group with no mercies, maybe Sapin capable of winning one singles at most but Turkey to surprise other teams and probably come second place.

Winners -Russia


Group H

Czech Republic, Switzerland, Austria,Wales

Czech has real strength in singles also other teams contain at least one good singles player . If Vaughan wins singles and Lewis and Hughes doubles then it opens up. I think that this will come down to 2nd doubles for a result so Morgan and Philips it is unless Lewis can win a singles. I think Czech because of singles but Wales can win this also if Vaughan performs.

Winners

Czech Republic


The Expert:)

[Lefty]

wow, you really know your stuff! ... and I thought I was a badminton nerd :P

seriously though, thanks for a great round up! :)

[The Expert]

Always happy to be helping...here is link to follow, action starting tomorrow.

http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/event.aspx?id=18141&event=1
:)

[TheChosenOneReturns!]

The Chosen One only disagrees with Group E. Sweden rather than France.

Fancy a wager ?

1 "Badders Krona" per tie is available for wager ... the Chosen One will now check on google to see what the current exchange is in Euros.

[The Expert]

Glad to take your mind from the Ladyboys Chosen One!

I actually think you can bet online on the Thomas Cup matches. More than a few in Denmark is already doing this. However i will not encourage your continuing downward moral spiral by giving you the link.;)

[TheChosenOneReturns!]

When Sweden win Group E Expert, you owe the Chosen One 1 Badders Krona !!

Now sort out your predictions for the final stage !!

Denmark V Sweden/France
Germany V Czech
Netherlands V Poland
Russia V England

Get to your local DanskaBanka Expert !!

[The Expert]

I will pronounce upon the final stages when the group fighting is done. I will not be tempted into a premature emission at this stage, Badders Krona or no Badders Krona!

[TheChosenOneReturns!]

The Expert caught out having a premature emission ...

[The Expert]

:D

Come, Come COR please be keeping your powder dry and we can call it match by match when the plays start...

[TheChosenOneReturns!]

Predicted winners in BOLD

10:00 AM Women's TC - Group A Italy[ITA] - [ISL] Iceland Pavillion - 8 - ICELAND
10:00 AM Women's TC - Group B England[ENG] - [ESP] Spain Pavillion - 5 - ENGLAND
10:00 AM Women's TC - Group C France[FRA] - [AUT] Austria Main Hall - 1 - FRANCE
10:00 AM Women's TC - Group C Switzerland[SUI] - [UKR] Ukraine Main Hall - 2 - UKRAINE
10:00 AM Men's TC - Group C Germany[GER] - [NOR] Norway Main Hall - 3 - GERMANY
10:00 AM Men's TC - Group C Estonia[EST] - [HUN] Hungary Main Hall - 4 - ESTONIA
10:00 AM Men's TC - Group D Poland[POL] - Bulgaria Pavillion - 9 - [B]POLAND
10:00 AM Men's TC - Group D Belgium - [POR] Portugal Pavillion - 7 - [B]BELGIUM
10:00 AM Women's TC - Group G Slovakia[SVK] - [SCO] Scotland Pavillion - 6 - SCOTLAND
2:00 PM Women's TC - Group D Russia[RUS] - Belgium Main Hall - 4 - [B]RUSSIA
2:00 PM Women's TC - Group D Ireland[IRL] - [FIN] Finland Main Hall - 2 - FINLAND
2:00 PM Women's TC - Group E Denmark[DEN] - [EST] Estonia Pavillion - 9 - DENMARK
2:00 PM Women's TC - Group E Belarus - [CZE] Czech Republic Pavillion - 6 - [B]CZECH
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group E Italy[ITA] - [SWE] Sweden Main Hall - 1 - SWEDEN
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group F Netherlands[NED] - [SVK] Slovakia Main Hall - 3 - NETHERLANDS
2:00 PM Women's TC - Group G Bulgaria - [LTU] Lithuania Pavillion - 8 - [B]BULGARIA
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group G Turkey[TUR] - [ESP] Spain Pavillion - 7 - SPAIN
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group H Austria[AUT] - [WAL] Wales Pavillion - 5 - AUSTRIA
6:00 PM Women's TC - Group A Germany[GER] - [WAL] Wales Pavillion - 7 - GERMANY
6:00 PM Men's TC - Group A Denmark[DEN] - [ISR] Israel Pavillion - 8 - DENMARK
6:00 PM Men's TC - Group B England[ENG] - [LTU] Lithuania Pavillion - 5 - ENGLAND
6:00 PM Men's TC - Group E France[FRA] - [GRE] Greece Main Hall - 1 - FRANCE
6:00 PM Men's TC - Group F Ireland[IRL] - [UKR] Ukraine Main Hall - 4 - UKRAINE
6:00 PM Women's TC - Group F Netherlands[NED] - [TUR] Turkey Main Hall - 3 - NETHERLANDS
6:00 PM Women's TC - Group F Poland[POL] - [POR] Portugal Main Hall - 2 - POLAND
6:00 PM Men's TC - Group G Russia[RUS] - [ISL] Iceland Pavillion - 9 - RUSSIA
6:00 PM Men's TC - Group H Czech Republic[CZE] - [SUI] Switzerland Pavillion - 6 - CZECH

[The Expert]

Predicted winners in BOLD

Predicted Upsets in Red!:)

10:00 AM Women's TC - Group A Italy[ITA] - [ISL] Iceland Pavillion - 8 - ICELAND
10:00 AM Women's TC - Group B England[ENG] - [ESP] Spain Pavillion - 5 - ENGLAND
10:00 AM Women's TC - Group C France[FRA] - [AUT] Austria Main Hall - 1 - FRANCE
10:00 AM Women's TC - Group C Switzerland[SUI] - [UKR] Ukraine Main Hall - 2 - UKRAINE
10:00 AM Men's TC - Group C Germany[GER] - [NOR] Norway Main Hall - 3 - GERMANY
10:00 AM Men's TC - Group C Estonia[EST] - [HUN] Hungary Main Hall - 4 - ESTONIA
10:00 AM Men's TC - Group D Poland[POL] - [BUL] Bulgaria Pavillion - 9 - POLAND
10:00 AM Men's TC - Group D Belgium[BEL] - [POR] Portugal Pavillion - 7 - PORTUGAL
10:00 AM Women's TC - Group G Slovakia[SVK] - [SCO] Scotland Pavillion - 6 - SCOTLAND
2:00 PM Women's TC - Group D Russia[RUS] - [BEL] Belgium Main Hall - 4 - RUSSIA
2:00 PM Women's TC - Group D Ireland[IRL] - [FIN] Finland Main Hall - 2 - FINLAND
2:00 PM Women's TC - Group E Denmark[DEN] - [EST] Estonia Pavillion - 9 - DENMARK
2:00 PM Women's TC - Group E Belarus[BLR] - [CZE] Czech Republic Pavillion - 6 -BELARUS
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group E Italy[ITA] - [SWE] Sweden Main Hall - 1 - SWEDEN
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group F Netherlands[NED] - [SVK] Slovakia Main Hall - 3 - NETHERLANDS
2:00 PM Women's TC - Group G Bulgaria[BUL] - [LTU] Lithuania Pavillion - 8 - BULGARIA
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group G Turkey[TUR] - [ESP] Spain Pavillion - 7 - TURKEY
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group H Austria[AUT] - [WAL] Wales Pavillion - 5 - WALES
6:00 PM Women's TC - Group A Germany[GER] - [WAL] Wales Pavillion - 7 - GERMANY
6:00 PM Men's TC - Group A Denmark[DEN] - [ISR] Israel Pavillion - 8 - DENMARK
6:00 PM Men's TC - Group B England[ENG] - [LTU] Lithuania Pavillion - 5 - ENGLAND
6:00 PM Men's TC - Group E France[FRA] - [GRE] Greece Main Hall - 1 - FRANCE
6:00 PM Men's TC - Group F Ireland[IRL] - [UKR] Ukraine Main Hall - 4 - IRELAND
6:00 PM Women's TC - Group F Netherlands[NED] - [TUR] Turkey Main Hall - 3 - NETHERLANDS
6:00 PM Women's TC - Group F Poland[POL] - [POR] Portugal Main Hall - 2 - POLAND
6:00 PM Men's TC - Group G Russia[RUS] - [ISL] Iceland Pavillion - 9 - RUSSIA
6:00 PM Men's TC - Group H Czech Republic[CZE] - [SUI] Switzerland Pavillion - 6 - CZECH

[TheChosenOneReturns!]

5 Badders Krona resting on Day One it is then.

The Chosen One excepts all major credit cards !!

:D

[The Expert]

5 BadKr it is then, although I think your selections is pretty close I have added my changes to keep up the sporting spirit.;)

Let the Games begin!

[TheChosenOneReturns!]

For the sake of luncheon, the Chosen One has determined via google that the current european exchange rate for the Badders Krona is 10 to the donut.

Fancy a wager Lunch ?

[Luncheon]

sounds like you boys need to go out there and get a life!!! Use your badderskrona to buy one.....

maybe you could both start by playing with each other, experience playing the game you're trying to bet on.....I have an image of the two of you playing in a back garden with a couple of ladybird rackets and pushing the boat out with a mavis shuttle!

Banter unloaded!

Yeah Luncheon is always up for a wager. But doesn't like this betting on women....far too unpredicatable....far too emotional!

10:00 AM Men's TC - Group C Germany[GER] - [NOR] Norway Main Hall - 3 - GERMANY
10:00 AM Men's TC - Group C Estonia[EST] - [HUN] Hungary Main Hall - 4 - ESTONIA
10:00 AM Men's TC - Group D Poland[POL] - [BUL] Bulgaria Pavillion - 9 - POLAND
10:00 AM Men's TC - Group D Belgium[BEL] - [POR] Portugal Pavillion - 7 - PORTUGAL
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group E Italy[ITA] - [SWE] Sweden Main Hall - 1 - SWEDEN
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group F Netherlands[NED] - [SVK] Slovakia Main Hall - 3 - NETHERLANDS
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group G Turkey[TUR] - [ESP] Spain Pavillion - 7 - SPAIN
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group H Austria[AUT] - [WAL] Wales Pavillion - 5 - WALES
6:00 PM Men's TC - Group A Denmark[DEN] - [ISR] Israel Pavillion - 8 - DENMARK
6:00 PM Men's TC - Group B England[ENG] - [LTU] Lithuania Pavillion - 5 - ENGLAND
6:00 PM Men's TC - Group E France[FRA] - [GRE] Greece Main Hall - 1 - FRANCE
6:00 PM Men's TC - Group F Ireland[IRL] - Ukraine Main Hall - 4 - [U]UKRAINE
6:00 PM Men's TC - Group G Russia[RUS] - [ISL] Iceland Pavillion - 9 - RUSSIA
6:00 PM Men's TC - Group H Czech Republic[CZE] - [SUI] Switzerland Pavillion - 6 - CZECH

[alansd]

dont knock the ladybird gear truncheon

[Luncheon]

wouldn't dream of it al!!!

hopefully one day I will be honoured enough to get to that standard of equipment.
Mine's from the beach store on Newquay beach. 2 rackets....one yellow, one an awesome green!!!!

[TheChosenOneReturns!]

Can't believe you went for Portugal, Expert ... the Chosen One is off to a flying start .... 1 Badders Kr to the good already.

:)

[Drew]

Wales win :) Last game 19-19 at one stage.

well done

[TheChosenOneReturns!]

Bast&rd !!!!!

:mad:

All down to the Ireland Ukraine match then Mr E ... all square so far.

[The Expert]

Your luck was very good in the Portugal v Belgium game 3-2 to your team. 2-2 Ireland v Ukraine so it is down to the last doubles to decide who will be BadKr rich today!

[TheChosenOneReturns!]

LUCK ???

When do Wales ever win a team match of any variety ???

Now ... day two, and don't disagree with me just for the sake of it this time ... thats not sensible gambling, there is nothing wrong with just agreeing with the Chosen One's better judgement. ;)

10:00 AM Women's TC - Group B Spain[ESP] - [SWE] Sweden Main Hall - 4 - SWEDEN
10:00 AM Men's TC - Group C Germany[GER] - [EST] Estonia Pavillion - 8 - GERMANY
10:00 AM Men's TC - Group C Norway[NOR] - [HUN] Hungary Pavillion - 5 - HUNGARY
10:00 AM Women's TC - Group C Austria[AUT] - [UKR] Ukraine Pavillion - 7 - UKRAINE
10:00 AM Women's TC - Group D Russia[RUS] - [IRL] Ireland Pavillion - 9 - RUSSIA
10:00 AM Men's TC - Group D Poland[POL] - Belgium Main Hall - 2 - [B]POLAND
10:00 AM Women's TC - Group E Denmark[DEN] - Belarus Main Hall - 3 - [B]DENMARK
10:00 AM Women's TC - Group G Bulgaria - [SVK] Slovakia Main Hall - 1 - [B]BULGARIA
10:00 AM Women's TC - Group G Lithuania[LTU] - [SCO] Scotland Pavillion - 6 - SCOTLAND
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group B Lithuania[LTU] - [FIN] Finland Main Hall - 4 - FINLAND
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group D Bulgaria - [POR] Portugal Pavillion - 6 - [B]PORTUGAL
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group E France[FRA] - [ITA] Italy Pavillion - 9 - FRANCE
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group E Greece[GRE] - [SWE] Sweden Pavillion - 5 - SWEDEN
2:00 PM Women's TC - Group E Estonia[EST] - [CZE] Czech Republic Main Hall - 3 - CZECH
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group F Netherlands[NED] - [IRL] Ireland Pavillion - 7 - NETHERLANDS
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group G Russia[RUS] - [TUR] Turkey Main Hall - 1 - RUSSIA
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group G Iceland[ISL] - [ESP] Spain Main Hall - 2 - SPAIN
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group H Switzerland[SUI] - [WAL] Wales Pavillion - 8 - SWITZERLAND
6:00 PM Women's TC - Group A Germany[GER] - [ITA] Italy Main Hall - 3 - GERMANY
6:00 PM Women's TC - Group A Wales[WAL] - [ISL] Iceland Main Hall - 1 - ICELAND
6:00 PM Men's TC - Group A Israel[ISR] - [SCO] Scotland Main Hall - 4 - SCOTLAND
6:00 PM Women's TC - Group C France[FRA] - [SUI] Switzerland Pavillion - 6 - FRANCE
6:00 PM Women's TC - Group D Belgium[BEL] - [FIN] Finland Pavillion - 9 - FINLAND
6:00 PM Women's TC - Group F Netherlands[NED] - [POL] Poland Main Hall - 2 - NETHERLANDS
6:00 PM Women's TC - Group F Turkey[TUR] - [POR] Portugal Pavillion - 8 - PORTUGAL
6:00 PM Men's TC - Group F Slovakia[SVK] - [UKR] Ukraine Pavillion - 5 - UKRAINE
6:00 PM Men's TC - Group H Czech Republic[CZE] - [AUT] Austria Pavillion - 7 - CZECH


oh ... PS... you owe the Chosen One 1 BadKr
:D

[The Expert]

Of course 1 BaKr it is then...

Lets have a look at today, I think I will stick with the mighty Wales and try to be a bit contrary with Norway and Turkey. We must remember my original predictions which so far look on course and it will be more interesting when the knockouts start and we move to 5BadKr a game.
:)


LUCK ???

When do Wales ever win a team match of any variety ???

Now ... day two, and don't disagree with me just for the sake of it this time ... thats not sensible gambling, there is nothing wrong with just agreeing with the Chosen One's better judgement.

10:00 AM Women's TC - Group B Spain[ESP] - [SWE] Sweden Main Hall - 4 - SWEDEN
10:00 AM Men's TC - Group C Germany[GER] - [EST] Estonia Pavillion - 8 - GERMANY
10:00 AM Men's TC - Group C Norway[NOR] - [HUN] Hungary Pavillion - 5 - NORWAY
10:00 AM Women's TC - Group C Austria[AUT] - [UKR] Ukraine Pavillion - 7 - UKRAINE
10:00 AM Women's TC - Group D Russia[RUS] - [IRL] Ireland Pavillion - 9 - RUSSIA
10:00 AM Men's TC - Group D Poland[POL] - [BEL] Belgium Main Hall - 2 - POLAND
10:00 AM Women's TC - Group E Denmark[DEN] - [BLR] Belarus Main Hall - 3 - DENMARK
10:00 AM Women's TC - Group G Bulgaria[BUL] - [SVK] Slovakia Main Hall - 1 - BULGARIA
10:00 AM Women's TC - Group G Lithuania[LTU] - [SCO] Scotland Pavillion - 6 - SCOTLAND
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group B Lithuania[LTU] - [FIN] Finland Main Hall - 4 - FINLAND
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group D Bulgaria[BUL] - [POR] Portugal Pavillion - 6 - PORTUGAL
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group E France[FRA] - [ITA] Italy Pavillion - 9 - FRANCE
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group E Greece[GRE] - [SWE] Sweden Pavillion - 5 - SWEDEN
2:00 PM Women's TC - Group E Estonia[EST] - [CZE] Czech Republic Main Hall - 3 - CZECH
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group F Netherlands[NED] - [IRL] Ireland Pavillion - 7 - NETHERLANDS
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group G Russia[RUS] - [TUR] Turkey Main Hall - 1 - RUSSIA
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group G Iceland[ISL] - [ESP] Spain Main Hall - 2 - SPAIN
2:00 PM Men's TC - Group H Switzerland[SUI] - [WAL] Wales Pavillion - 8 - WALES
6:00 PM Women's TC - Group A Germany[GER] - [ITA] Italy Main Hall - 3 - GERMANY
6:00 PM Women's TC - Group A Wales[WAL] - [ISL] Iceland Main Hall - 1 - ICELAND
6:00 PM Men's TC - Group A Israel[ISR] - [SCO] Scotland Main Hall - 4 - SCOTLAND
6:00 PM Women's TC - Group C France[FRA] - [SUI] Switzerland Pavillion - 6 - FRANCE
6:00 PM Women's TC - Group D Belgium[BEL] - [FIN] Finland Pavillion - 9 - FINLAND
6:00 PM Women's TC - Group F Netherlands[NED] - [POL] Poland Main Hall - 2 - NETHERLANDS
6:00 PM Women's TC - Group F Turkey[TUR] - [POR] Portugal Pavillion - 8 - TURKEY
6:00 PM Men's TC - Group F Slovakia[SVK] - [UKR] Ukraine Pavillion - 5 - UKRAINE
6:00 PM Men's TC - Group H Czech Republic[CZE] - [AUT] Austria Pavillion - 7 - CZECH


oh ... PS... you owe the Chosen One 1 BadKr

[TheChosenOneReturns!]

These Krona are starting to slip away from you Mr E, pesky Norwegians.

Much more of this and you'll be having your wages arrested and my monkey round at your door for collections.

:)

[afrayn]

Anyone have any thoughts on the England men's match yesterday? Some interesting pairings... including no place for Blair. A blink and you'll miss it performance from Robertson and Chris Adcock, Clark playing with Lindley. Smith lost the first singles, as predicted by The Expert.

http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/teammatch.aspx?id=18141&match=24

[Markymark]

Also some unusual pairings in the scottish ladies, with no place for Emma Mason.

Surprised Smith lost his singles - he seems to be going downhill since making headway into the top 20 in the world. England should win their group easy.

Scotland's men should beat Israel and get whipped off Denmark. Scotland's women are capable of beating Bulgaria, and it's not impossible that they could beat France in the knock-outs, if they get there. England's women will win their group easily too.

[interestedspectator]

Wales men 3-1 up against Switzerland, doesn't look like COR will be collecting on this one!

[TheChosenOneReturns!]

The Turkey Portugal Uber Cup tie will bring it back into line ... that was a very silly bet Mr E.

I will be happy enough to double my takings by the end of day two.

[Drew]

Wales do it again .. well the men have :)

[The Expert]

OK so another day begins...

I think England has a potentially tricky tie against Finland. Not a tie they will lose but just at least some tough singles games. Sweden V France will be an interesting match and also of course Wales V Czech Republic. I have to admire Richard Vaughan who has played a shrewd calculating game with Olympic points.

My predictions still stand but it will be an interesting day all round.

The Expert

[Markymark]

Scotland's women are 2-0 up against Bulgaria! Susan Hughes had a fairly easy win over Petya Nedelcheva and Linda Sloan beat Linda Zechiri - two VERY good results. Well done! :D

[Woody]

England's men 3-0 up

[Markymark]

Scotland's women are 2-0 up against Bulgaria! Susan Hughes had a fairly easy win over Petya Nedelcheva and Linda Sloan beat Linda Zechiri - two VERY good results. Well done! :D

Scotland's women are now 3-1 up. They won all the singles easily and looked to be headed for an easy win the doubles, but Susan and Jillie lost in three having won the first set 21-8. Still, quarter finals again for Scotland and not a bad draw for a possible place in the semi!

[Badboy]

Hmmm that bottom half of the draw could be tricky for England, especially the Netherlands who have several good singles players. Very good effort by the Scots against Denmark too from the scores.

[The Expert]

Now we are with to the serious stuff!

First of all congratulations to Wales who played the right strategy to see them through to the final stages. The whole team did their best and so far Richard Vaughan has been outstanding and showed why he has been a world top ten player. Sweden also played their singles very good and deserved their win against France.

Denmark were given good competition by a Scotland team not prepared to roll over. Jan Ø does not find Gilliland easy to beat, Goddard outperformed against Persson (he is improving) and Thomson beat HKV who is still not 100% match fit. I think the management should have taken Mikkelsen at this time and maybe were too complacent against Scotland. I am a big fan of HKV and his best badminton is to come but we must be careful not to push a recovering player at top level competition.

I will again say about Thomson that if he was competed regularly by Scotland in the way that Ireland compete Scott Evans(who showed big talent again) he is capable of top 50, constant competition and investment reaps dividends with young players.

Todays play?

Denmark v Sweden - Denmark must run out full strength 5-0 Denmark

Netherlands v Poland - Wacha and doubles will put Netherlands under real pressure. If Wacha can beat Palyama 3-2 Poland. 1st singles will decide progress of game.

Wales v Germany - Only Vaughan can win a game either 4-1 or 5-0 to Germany.

England v Russia - This is where England doubles get first decent test. Must not drop singles to put it beyond doubt. First singles is crucial if not Russia will smell blood and could outperform. 4-1 if singles not dropped. If one game of singles dropped watch out!
:)

[alansd]

the english ladies could be in trouble against the netherlands.
I imagine they will loose the first 2 singles if Yao Jie plays which leaves them in a very tricky position

[Luncheon]

no Yao Jie

1 WS1 Judith Meulendijks [NED]
- [ENG] Tracey Hallam HALLAM to win

2 WS2 Rachel Van Cutsen [NED]
- [ENG] Elizabeth Cann not sure, hopefully Cann

3 WD2 Judith Meulendijks [NED]
Yao Jie [NED]
- [ENG] Gail Emms
[ENG] Jenny Wallwork Meulendijks/Yao Jie

4 WS3 Karina De Wit [NED]
- [ENG] Jill Pittard Pittard

5 WD1 Paulien Van Dooremalen [NED]
Rachel Van Cutsen [NED]
- [ENG] Joanne Nicholas
[ENG] Natalie Munt Might come down to this, in which case I'm thinking Nicholas and Munt!
We win 3-2 or 4-1

[alansd]

I reckon hallam could loose the first one and pittard could bottle it although I dont know anything about the girl she is playing.
Is Yao Jie injured or something? If she were to play singles I would have said england were in real trouble

[The Expert]

De Wit is very good and experienced singles player. I think that The Chosen One has come to the end of his day release and his current institution is not online;)

[Phil McBride]

De Wit is very good and experienced singles player. I think that The Chosen One has come to the end of his day release and his current institution is not online;)

He he he.........

Institution indeed :p

[alansd]

anyone know what happened in the first singles for england, says holland won but only about 40 points played

[The Expert]

England have lost the first two singles...

[TheChosenOneReturns!]

Wheres my money Mr E !!!

[Woody]

Hallam retired half way through second game having lost the first.

Luncheon not having a good day on the predictions,

Hallam & Cann lost but Emms and Wallwork won.
Luncheon 0-3 down already.

[Luncheon]

Pittard's just lost....England's out.

But Scotland are going great guns...down to last women's doubles.
Och aye ganew!

[alansd]

and england are out..........

Looks like scotland france is going to a decider.... scotland to squeeze through???? Maybe

sorry chris didnt see your post!

[TheChosenOneReturns!]

The Chosen One offers 100bdkr on the scots to win the final doubles.

French are bottlers !!

[Markymark]

And they've done it! Scotland beat France 3-2 and make the semis. Fantastic result :D.

[alansd]

and it was quite comfortable in the end, Susan two bags even managed a set off Pi!
Is there any chance we beat Holland?
Where is the expert when you need him!

[Markymark]

It's not impossible. Susan could beat Judith (if Yao doesn't play) and Rita should win third singles. And the doubles is pretty close.

[The Expert]

The ladies game is not really my special area although I do take in interest in Carola Bott of Germany;)

Ok apart from this Scotland's performance is no big surprise to me. Netherlands is at home with huge support and what this comes down to is a singles win to give Scotland belief in doubles where they are too strong for Netherlands. The Dutch will try and get the three singles players up first to kill the game so if Skotland can take any singles game then a battle begins. I am looking for a big performance from second or third singles to unsettle Netherlands. It's good for badminton!

COR you know that only people with full mental faculties is allowed to gamble and I don't want to get into troubles with your carers:D

[alansd]

smith has lost the first against some ruski

[Woody]

Smith won his match

[Woody]

Raj won his match.

Wales currently 0-2

[Woody]

Well done the three England Singles yes Singles players.

[The Expert]

OK now the semi-finals

Thomas Cup

England v Poland

Andrew Smith did a particularly good job for England because Pukhov is much more than "Some Ruski" and is in fact a very strong and capable singles player. This set England up good for the rest of the game. Against Poland he has the same challenge because Wacha is the key to the door. After Gade and Jonassen Wacha is the best in Europe so it is a big ask and Smith will need to bring speed and precision to play or Wacha will hustle him off the court. Because England now have 3 decent singles players and world class doubles Poland will have to produce something very special to take this game. England cannot afford to lose 2 singles because Polish first doubles is also world class and you do not want to have this as a deciding game (unless you are neutral like me then it is fantastic:))

England to win this game and go to final

Denmark v Germany

Joppien cannot win I think but Zwiebler has no fear and he can win on his day even against Gade but it is a huge task. Our top two singles were not emphatic against Sweden and Germany know that Persson could be vulnerable ( I would play Jan Ø). I still think too big a job but Denmark is coming to the end of a singles era and Germany will try to rattle them hard. Danish doubles should be too strong.

Denmark to win this game.


Uber Cup


Scotland v Netherlands


I do not think Susan Hughes can win but I think Linda Sloan and Yuan Gao can and so can the 1st doubles. The best thing for girls badminton is a Scottish win and I hope they can do it. I view Sloans game as the most vital for the match dynamic and ideally Scotland goes into the doubles with just one win to end it.

If Sloan wins Scotland if she loses Netherlands will win.

Denmark v Germany

This will be a big fight. All German team is tough and seasoned and Denmark will need to be at top of game to defeat them. I think Tine will win but Camilla cannot. This may come down to third singles and a big day for Nanna as I think doubes will split.

My heart says Denmark but my head says Germay to win.

[alansd]

Expert.. you know I was kidding with the ruski comment, just trying to wind up the english.

Do you really think linda sloan can win at second singles? Liz Cann was soundly beaten at second singles and I would have thought she was far ahead of the scot. I would put some badders krona on scotland not taking the second singles. I would have thought we need Susan to step it up and return to some of her previous form and win at first for us to have a good chance of winning this one. She did take a set off Pi Hongyan yesterday so maybe so has it in her today.
Does anyone know why Emma Mason isnt getting selected? Winning the nats a couple of weeks ago should have pretty much tied up her selection I would have thought.

[The Expert]

Of course Scotland v England I should know these things!

Ok I am not a close follower of the women's game but I think that Sloan is close to the very best of the European women in her age and because of this she can raise her game with nothing to lose. Cann underperformed for whatever reason and Sloan needs to over perform but it is not beyond her. The Dutch have done as I believed they would which is to try and kill the game 3-0 through the singles. Yuan Gao is a very experienced player and I expect her to win. This is a huge game for Susan Hughes and her form definitely seems consistent but I have watched her crumble several times under pressure therefore I think you would all say it comes down to what you call "bottle", so lets hope and see if she has the "bottle" to take the game to her opponent, because the Dutch will be pumped up with huge support.

For the doubles girl Mason my information is she is injured.

Come on Scotland because I want Netherlands to lose!

[The Expert]

1st game to Ms.Hughes good for her, let us hope she can do the same next game:)

[Markymark]

It all went a bit wrong for Scotland after that. Susan was soundly beaten in the second set against Judith, and then 15-11 down in the third to come back to 16-16 and then lose 5 in a row.

Linda Sloan was thumped and then I was also surprised that Rita didn't get near Karina De Wit. Still - 4th for Scotland is a fantastic result!

[The Expert]

Yes my women's forecasting is no good:)

Still Scotland have to fight it out now with Germany for 3/4th place so very good. Danmark girls played great and I have to apologise to Camilla because she performed very good indeed.

In the Thomas cup Poland have deliberately put out their no.2 team against England (Who have them completely scared and beaten) and elected to fight out the third qualifier probably with Germany by resting their best players.

I notice Badzine got a good picture of Susan after she is winning the first game against Meulendijks.

http://www.igs.net/~gmcgaw/irn-bru.gif

[TheChosenOneReturns!]

They say there is at least 2 bags of sugar in every 500ml !!

[Phil McBride]

They say there is at least 2 bags of sugar in every 500ml !!

Yes thats just the water up here, you should try the Irn-Bru :)

[Woody]

England into the final then a very comfortable 3-0 win

[Woody]

So Expert who is going to win tomorrow England or Denmark?

I should have been at this tournament line judging but had to pull out so I will miss it.

Off to Vienna on Monday for the Austrian International. There are a large number of Brits entered along with a few Scots.

[The Expert]

Denmark v England

I think Denmark will try to kill this in singles if they can but England will want to mix in doubles. I think that England cannot win a singles game but they may have a chance in doubles. If they could get a singles win then it would make a difference and it would be a seismic shock for Jonassen or Gade to concede a game. Can Ghaffar beat a Danish singles player like Persson? It's possible and to be honest I would play Joachim Fischer at third singles because Ghaffar would not have a chance.

I believe England will be happy to be qualified and I think Denmark will win 3-0 or 3-1.

Germany v Poland

I don't know where Poland would get a third win from so Germany for 3rd place.

[hink]

woody, find your comment a bit confusing

there are a large number of Brits entered along with a few Scots?????

[Woody]

What I meant was.

There are English and Scots.

[hink]

thanks woody

think we all realised that and you probably realised the point that I was making - that
English often consider England and Britain the same to the exclusion of the other home
countries

[Badboy]

England have thrown the cat among the pigeons!

Order Event DenmarkDEN [DEN] - ENG[ENG] England Score Points Duration Court
1 MS1
Kenneth Jonassen DEN - Andrew Smith ENG

2 MD1
Jens Eriksen Martin Lundgaard DEN - Anthony Clark Robert Blair ENG

3 MS2
Peter Gade DEN - Rajiv Ouseph ENG

4 MD2
Mathias Boe Joachim Fischer DEN - Nathan Robertson David Lindley ENG

5 MS3
Joachim Persson DEN - Nathan Rice ENG


Something that has suprised me in Englands team selection so far is that Robin Middleton given his form at the nationals and that he took both the world #1 + #2 pairs to three in previous weeks wasn't picked for any matches and that David Lindley who underperformed in both events at the nationals without doing anything spectacular internationally of late has been a constant within the team.

[Woody]

0-3 tyhen

No surprises really.

Having seen Clark and Robertson in Manchester i would have played them as No 1 pair then we might have at least taken one game.

Hard lines Scotland.

[Lefty]

Positive stuff to see our singles lads performing so well! Hopefully that will give them a confidence boost heading into the All England.

Not long now :)

Blimey, Denmark really rolled out the big guns with Jonnasen and Gade :eek: