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There were lots of news stories flying about in February in the badminton world. This was mostly off the court, but on the court – Finland hosted the European Mixed Team Championships to keep our badminton urges satiated.
European Mixed Team Championship 2021
February 2021 saw the European Mixed Team Championships being played out in dramatic fashion. As reigning champions, Denmark automatically qualified for the event, while Finland, as the host nation also qualified automatically.
Going into the event, there’s only one team that was really going to take the title. Denmark is the best European nation and the only European nation to consistently challenge Asian dominance over the sport. However, watching the tournament there were some really strong competitors in some of the other countries that look to have bright futures ahead of them.
In particular, Denmark’s opponents in the final – France were particularly impressive. Russia and Germany have typically been the strongest contenders to Denmark in the past four or five years. However, this year was different. France achieved its first-ever European medal.
However, although they lost 3-0 to Denmark in the finals, they are a fast-improving nation. Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue, who, as an individual pair have been strong contenders for World Tour Titles. As I write this, they have won the Swiss Open Title! (which will be covered in the March edition of this)!
Yonex Sponsorship Returns To Team China
This was news back in January. and officially announced by Yonex at the start of March. So I’m hitting the middle ground here! No complaints!
Yes, Yonex is now the sponsor of the Chinese badminton team, 12 years after Li Ning was first contracted as sponsors. Superstar Lin Dan was the only Chinese to be sponsored by Yonex previously in a move that would later reveal him as part of their Legends initiative. But now the whole team will be supplied by Yonex once more.
Personally, I liked a lot of the Li-Ning range but I feel with their biggest badminton sponsorship deal coming to an end, it could be that the demand for their rackets declines too. This is a shame because, although expensive, they did make some great rackets. Visually, the colourful Windstorm 72 was my favourite. They offered other good mid-range options as well such as the A800. They never seemed to provide enough information around their rackets though, which put a lot of people off.
Malaysia Reassess Its Squad
After a long period of what could be called inadequate results, BAM decided in February to let go a number of players – who have since gone independent.
Following a performance review, a number of players, including Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Lai, found themselves facing the axe. Malaysia has certainly not been up to standard on the whole, including independent players, for a few years at the top level. However, those who have gone independent seem to be fairing a little better than those within the BAM structure.
There are talks among Malaysian fans that the problems with BAM stem from the top of the organisation rather than the players themselves. Yes, the players are responsible to deliver good performances but the leadership also needs to be there to facilitate this. A great example is how Park Joo Bong set in place a structure on becoming head coach of the Japanese team – who have now replaced Malaysia as one of the powerhouses of world badminton.
Interestingly, Jeremy Gan, ex-Malaysian Mixed Double’s coach, is one of the success stories in Japan and has worked wonders with Watanabe and Higashino.
Of course, I don’t know the inner workings of the organisation, but if you have players outside the structure doing better than those within in, there might be a problem…
The All England Draw
Lastly, it looks like All England is going ahead! And even more exciting, it looks like Japan are going to take part! However, China, Korea and Hong Kong have chosen not to send any representatives this year. And also the jury is out on whether I’ll be able to add to my collection of All England Tshirts!
This time last year we saw the last tournament before Covid shut the badminton scene down, So let’s hope that nothing hinders this year’s tournament!
Men’s Singles
Of course, all eyes will be on Kento Momota who was previously unable to attend previous tournaments in Thailand due to catching Covid-19. That will make it over a year since he won his last title. Is he tournament-ready vs Viktor Axelsen who has played four tournaments so far this year? Not that we’re writing off the likes of Ginting, Lee Zii Jia and Anders Antonsen, but I think there’s a clear final everybody wants to see.
Women’s Singles
You would be hard-pressed to vote against Carolina Marin to take the title, She mercilessly has swept aside every opponent before her so far this year, but with the inclusion of Okuhara and Yamaguchi at the All England, there is an additional barrier to cross.
Men’s Doubles
In men’s doubles, Indonesia’s Minions make a return to tournament play, with their first two rounds looking like a formality. We will also be watching their seniors Ahsan and Setiawan with interest as well as Endo and Watanabe (who boast a positive win ratio vs the Minions). The Indian pair of Ranireddy and Shetty are also a fast-improving pair. With Mathias Boe at the helm of the men’s doubles in India, they might be a force to be reckoned with at this year’s All England.
Women’s Doubles
In the absence of South Korea, Japan is favourite to take the women’s doubles title – especially with three pairs in the top 10. However, they face stiff competition from Polii and Rahayu of Indonesia and the Thai pair of Jongkolphan Kititharakul / Rawinda Prajongjai. Home favourites Lauren Smith and Chloe Birch will also be looking to use home advantage to their benefit!
Mixed Doubles
In Mixed, well the floor is open. Previous winners of the title, Watanabe/Higashino as well as Jordan/Oktanianti make a strong case for claiming the title. However, both pairs have not been playing recent tournaments whereas the other seeded pairs have. The French pair of Gicquel and Delrue are certainly in with a chance, fresh from their victory at the Swiss Open.
Yonex usually does a new racket launch around the All England in the same way as the Astrox 100 but I haven’t heard any noise this year. Maybe one of you in the know can let me know if there are any rumours floating around!
Conclusion
And that’s all I got for news right now! Who are your favourites for the All England? Let me know in the comments below! Don’t forget to subscribe to the blog for more badminton content and follow me on Instagram and Facebook for more badminton info!
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