Gade wins fourth European Championships title
Author: European Badminton Union
Date: 18 Apr 2006
Category: Tournament Results
Peter
Gade defeated his Danish compatriot Kenneth Jonassen to win his fourth
gold medal in the men's singles event at the European
Championships. Jens Eriksen and Martin Lundgaard were also able to
defend their title and win gold in the men's doubles event. Germany's Xu Huaiwen won the women's singles gold medal with a win over Mia Audina of
the Netherlands.
Peter Gade now holds the
record for most European Championship men's singles titles with four
gold medals. He has overtaken compatriots Poul-Erik
Hoyer-Larsen and Fleming Delfs, plus Swedish legend Sture Johnsson, all
of whom won three European Championships. Frustratingly for Kenneth
Jonassen this was his fourth silver medal won at the European
Championships. The men's singles final was a repeat line-up of what
happened at the 1998 and 2004 Championships. Although playing with a
different scoring system, the outcome was the same as Gade won 21/19,
21/18.
The home fans were left
disappointed in the women's singles event. Their Dutch player Mia
Audina started well winning the first game 21/15, but at the end of a
long rally to secure the first game Audina was noticed to be concerned
about her heavily bandaged left leg. Audina's opponent in the final, Xu
Huaiwen of Germany
did not look too troubled after losing the first game, and raced to an
early lead in the second. She held onto this lead and extended it to
level the final at one game all. In the deciding game the short German
shuttler seemed to have the competitive edge and won 21/16 to win the
gold medal. This delighted the German coaches but upset the loud home
supporters.
Denmark
dominated two more finals with their players on both sides of the
net. The men's doubles and mixed doubles finals also both featured Jens
Eriksen. In the men's doubles event, Eriksen used his and doubles
partner Martin Lundgaard's experience to control the match against
their younger compatriots Carsten Mogensen and Mathias Boe. Mogensen
and Boe looked frustrated at many moments and could not believe how
many times the shuttle landed on the wrong side of the back
line. Eriksen and Lundgaard looked cool and composed throughout and won
21/15, 21/17, thereby defending the title they have now won three times
in succession.
Eriksen was unable to achieve the
double though as he and mixed partner Mette Schjoldager lost to Thomas
Laybourn and Kamilla Juhl. Laybourn and Juhl came from behind to clinch
the first game 22/20. This gave them confidence in the second game to
secure the match and their first European Championships title.
England was able to celebrate in the women's doubles event. Gail Emms
entered the tournament as top seed in two events, but following the
surprise early defeat in the mixed doubles event, she was then able to
focus solely on the women's doubles. Emms and Donna Kellogg had already
played their opponents in the final in Den Bosch this week, Germany's
Juliane Schenk and Nicole Grether, during the Team Competition. That
time it was to decide which country would win the team bronze
medal. Emms and Kellogg were able to get a second win over the
German's, this time to win gold.
Here is a summary of the results from the five finals -
Men's singles: Peter Gade (Denmark) beat Kenneth Jonassen (Denmark) 21/19, 21/18
Women's singles: Xu Huaiwen (Germany) beat Mia Audina (Netherlands) 15/21, 21/9, 21/16
Men's doubles: Jens Eriksen and Martin Lundgaard (Denmark) beat Carsten Mogensen and Mathias Boe (Denmark) 21/15, 21/17
Women's doubles: Gail Emms and Donna Kellogg (England) beat Juliane Schenk and Nicole Grether (Germany) 21/12, 21/10
Mixed doubles: Thomas Laybourn and Kamila Juhl (Denmark) beat Jens Eriksen and Mette Schjoldager (Denmark) 22/20, 21/15
