The first decisions in the individual tournament of the AirBadminton World Championship in Sharjah have been made – and both the German women’s and men’s triples are in the quarter-finals. The Asian champions from Hong Kong are waiting there on Friday.
The first day of competition at the AirBadminton World Championship on Khor Fakkan Beach brought two German quarter-finals. Both the women’s and men’s triples qualified in their groups and face two high-profile tasks against Hong Kong China on Friday.
Women’s triple decides nerve battle against Nigeria
The German women’s triple started the tournament with an intense five-set match against hosts United Arab Emirates and had to admit defeat in a close exchange (7:9, 9:7, 9:10, 8:10, 5:9). Because the United Arab Emirates also won against Nigeria, the second German group game became the decisive duel for a place in the quarter-finals.
A highly dramatic match developed against Nigeria. After a 1-2 set deficit, Julia Meyer, Florentine Schöffski, Annalena Diks and Fabienne Deprez fended off two match points in the fourth set and forced the deciding set at 13:12. There, too, Germany was behind again at 6:8 – and fended off two more match points. With a 10:8, the team won the much celebrated victory and secured their ticket to the round of the best eight (6:9, 9:5, 8:10, 13:12, 10:8).
Men’s triple confident against Netherlands – China too strong
For the men’s triple, the tournament began with a reunion: At the European Championships in Baku, Germany met the Netherlands in the semi-finals of the team competition – and this time too Thomas Fuchs, Fabian Hippold, Lennart Konder and David Kramer prevailed. With a concentrated performance, a confident 3:1 success was achieved (9:4, 7:9, 9:7, 9:6).
China then waited in the group game for first place. The powerful and precise game of the Chinese determined the game, Germany had to clearly admit defeat (3:9, 4:9, 2:9). Second place still meant: quarter-finals reached.
Quarterfinal draw brings top opponents
Following the group phase, the quarter-finals were drawn – and both German teams were given challenging tasks. Both the men’s and women’s triples face the Asian champions from Hong Kong China, whose men’s team is led by former world-class player Wong Wing Ki Vincent.
The German quarterfinals (German time):
Women’s triple: Germany – Hong Kong China, approx. 12:30 p.m
Men’s triple: Germany – Hong Kong China, approx. 1:30 p.m
Livestreaming
All matches will be broadcast live by the BWF on YouTube; Court 1 as a TV production and Court 2 as an uncommented live stream. This provides spectators with the opportunity to follow the emergence of a new international competition tradition from the very beginning.
