2 heavy-weight pairs in MD have withdrawn: Matthias Boe/Carsten Mogensen and Jens Eriksen/Martin Lundgaard Hansen.

That will pave the way for Fran Kurniawan/Rendra Wijaya (ranked 48) for another successful European tourney perhaps? They only have Tim Dettmann/Johannes Schoettler (ranked 30, beaten before), Wouter Claes/Frederic Mawet (ranked 37, beaten before) and Jacob Chemnitz/Mikkel Delbo Larsen (ranked 39, beaten before) ranked above them.

Team Djarum
Men's Singles: Ari Yuli Wahyu Hartanto, Dynonisius Hayom Rumbaka (Q), Wisnu Haryo Putro (Q)

Men's Doubles: Fran Kurniawan/Rendra Wijaya

Women's Singles: Maria Elfira Christina, Sylvinna Kurniawan, Rosaria Yusfin Pungkasari

Women's Doubles: Meiliana Jauhari/Shendy Puspa Irawati

Mixed Doubles: Fran Kurniawan/Shendy Puspa Irawati

any MAS players invovlve??

any MAS players invovlve??
Kuan Beng Hong
Salim Sameon ( based on Finland)

kbh???? i tot tat guy oredy disappeared 4 quit sometime.......

Yup, badMania... Fran-Rendra should now be seeded #4 and can very well become the Finnish Challenge champion!

In the WS draw, looks like it is an open field for Li Wenyan, Jang Soo Young, and the 3 INA WS [Pipin, Sylvi, Fira] to dominate this tournament...

The MS draw also looks pretty open for Wahyu, Hayom, Wisnu... But I think Wahyu will perform best... [unless he runs out of steam from playing many matches in Poland]... Hayom and Wisnu gets a lot of rest and practice time in Poland while preparing themselves for a good performance in Finland...

kuan beng hong has also participate in polish open ~ olidy advance to 2nd round

Yup, Fran Kurniawan/Rendra Wijaya are seeded 4th now.
R32: Bye
R16: vs possibly Christian John Skovgaard/Christian Larsen
QF: vs possibly Matthew Honey/Martyn Lewis
SF: vs possibly Tim Dettmann/Johannes Schoettler [1] or the pair who beat them yesterday Adam Cwalina/Wojciech Szkudlardcyzk
F: vs possibly Wouter Claes/Frederic Mawet [2] or Jacob Chemnitz/Mikkel Delbo Larsen [3]

A bad draw for the WS players (except for Maria Elfira) :mad::crying:
Anna Rice [1] vs Rosaria Yusfin Pungkasari
Jang Soo Young [8] vs Slyvinna Kurniawan
Kristina Ludikova vs Maria Elfira Christina

In MS:
Ari Yuli Wahyu Hartanto vs Jurgen Koch -- a relatively tough draw too.

In MSQ:
Wisnu Haryo Putro might face Taufiq Akbar Hidayat for a place in the main draw.

Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka has a chance to progress to main draw if he can beat Kristian Nielsen in the second round and possibly an English player in the last round.

Sylvinna beat Jang Soo Young twice in Malaysia & Macau

Anna Rice is quite beatable by Pipin... We shall see...
I'm not worried about our MS. They should do fine in Finland, actually...;)
XD draw is good for Fran-Shendy. WD draw is good for Mel-Shendy...

Sylvinna beat Jang Soo Young twice in Malaysia & Macau

I remember something like this... But I wasn't sure. Good that you remember, Sandy. :D

I remember something like this... But I wasn't sure. Good that you remember, Sandy. :D

I didn't keep track of results for MS & WS players....hehe :D

good luck friends..... and you know who you are........ hehe........

http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/tournament.aspx?id=20293

Wisnu is through to his last qualification game after winning 2 in a row this morning:
Wisnu Haryo Putro (http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/player.aspx?id=20293&player=317)http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/images/flags/INA.gif[INA] (http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/players.aspx?id=20293&c=INA)-http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/images/flags/FIN.gif[FIN] (http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/players.aspx?id=20293&c=FIN)Markus Heikkinen (http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/player.aspx?id=20293&player=283) 21-17 21-17, 22 min
Wisnu Haryo Putro (http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/player.aspx?id=20293&player=317)http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/images/flags/INA.gif[INA] (http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/players.aspx?id=20293&c=INA)-http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/images/flags/FIN.gif[FIN] (http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/players.aspx?id=20293&c=FIN)Aki Kananen (http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/player.aspx?id=20293&player=280) 21-18 21-16, 28 min

His last match is going to be against the winner of Taufik Hidayat Akbar of INA vs. Emil Vind of DEN... ;)

Kasper Nielsen has beaten Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka in the second qualifying round. Meanwhile, Taufiq Akbar Hidayat will face Wisnu Haryo Putro for a place in the Main Draw.

Wisnu will face Taufik Akbar later today...

Hayom just lost to Kristian Nielsen... Ouch...

As feared, both MS players failed to qualify. Taufik Akbar Hidayat got the ticket to the main draw to be played today.

Mixed Doubles R32
Mikkel Delbo-Larsen/Mie Schjott-Kristensenvs Fran Kurniawan/Shendy Puspa Irawati -- a tricky match for Fran/Shendy. I hope they can continue their fine run towards the Final last week.

Men's Singles R32
Ari Yuli Wahyu Hartanto vs Raul Must -- the Djarum pair should take this one.

Women's Singles R32
Anna Rice [1] vs Rosaria Yusfin Pungkasari -- the top seed has the edge.

Jang Soo Young [8] vs Syvinna Kurniawan -- 50-50 and the Korean player has the slight edge.

Eva Sladekova vs Maria Elfira Christina -- Fira should take this one.

Fran Kurniawan/Rendra Wijaya [4] and Meiliana Jauhari/Shendy Puspa Irawati will start to play only in R16.

I was wrong in predicting the INA MS strength [Hayom and Wisnu]... I will not debate badMania anymore... Ha ha ha... He is like an oracle...

I was wrong in predicting the INA MS strength [Hayom and Wisnu]... I will not debate badMania anymore... Ha ha ha... He is like an oracle...

he's master of calculation :D :D

Mixed Doubles R32
Mikkel Delbo-Larsen/Mie Schjott-Kristensenvs Fran Kurniawan/Shendy Puspa Irawati -- a tricky match for Fran/Shendy. I hope they can continue their fine run towards the Final last week.


Fran-Shendy won 22-20, 22-20 in 29 minutes... :D

Fran-Shendy won 22-20, 22-20 in 29 minutes... :D

That's really very very close :eek: Fran/Shendy could become one of INA's main XD pair if both of them want to focus on XD also.

That's really very very close :eek: Fran/Shendy could become one of INA's main XD pair if both of them want to focus on XD also.

Yes, they're definitely more explosive [power-wise] than Tantowi-Yulianti. Maybe they just lack the shot-variations and too predictable. Rizal-Greysia has the shot-variations and shot-unpredictability, just not enough power [compared to the top-pairs]... :D

By the way, Ari Yuli Wahyu have defeated Raul Must 21-15, 21-9 and Peter Mikkelsen [5] defeated Taufik Hidayat Akbar 21-14, 21-10.

Wahyu vs. Peter will play later on tonight... ;) in around 4 hours time...

Rizal-Greysia has the shot-variations and shot-unpredictability, just not enough power [compared to the top-pairs]... :D


When they are not playing well, like today, Rizal/Grace can lose easily because they are just not too powerful and looked lost :mad::o

Pipin lost to Anna Rice.
Maria Elfira Christina progresses as expected.

Yes... Pipin lost 13-21, 21-13, 21-16 in 52 minutes... Sigh...
Fira totally demolished her opponent. Must be due to injury or something...

I am still waiting for the Sylvi result...

When they are not playing well, like today, Rizal/Grace can lose easily because they are just not too powerful and looked lost :mad::o

I think it could be the case of China doing their homework (i.e. video work) more dilligently than INA. especially since He/Yu narrowly won last time they played Rizal/Grace.

Jang Soo Young edged out Sylvinna Kurniawan 21-16, 23-21.

Ouch! Sylvi lost!!! Bad draw indeed... Met the seeds so early... Only Fira left...

I still predict INA will win 1 or 2 titles in Finland... from MD, WD, and XD... most probably not from WS or MS...

Mixed Doubles R16
Dean George/Mariana Agathangelou vs Fran Kurniawan/Shendy Puspa Irawati -- another tricky match for Fran/Shendy but we know that they are powerful enough....

Men's Singles R16
Ari Yuli Wahyu Hartanto vs Peter Mikkelsen [5] -- a tough battle for Wahyu...I think the Danes has an edge.

Women's Singles R16
Maria Elfria Christina vs Anastasia Kudinova -- Fira should take this one.

Men's Doubles R16
Fran Kurniawan/Rendra Wijaya [4] vs Steinar Klausen/Hallstein Oma -- should be a breeze for Fran/Rendra.

Women's Doubles R16
Meiliana Jauhari/Shendy Puspa Irawati vs Emelie Lennartsson/Emma Wengberg -- ditto for Mel/Shendy.

Mixed Doubles R16
Dean George/Mariana Agathangelou vs Fran Kurniawan/Shendy Puspa Irawati -- another tricky match for Fran/Shendy but we know that they are powerful enough....

Men's Singles R16
Ari Yuli Wahyu Hartanto vs Peter Mikkelsen [5] -- a tough battle for Wahyu...I think the Danes has an edge.


Fran-Shendy are through to the quarterfinals!!! :D :D :D

Fran Kurniawan (http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/player.aspx?id=20293&player=473)http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/images/flags/INA.gif[INA] Shendy Puspa Irawati (http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/player.aspx?id=20293&player=514)http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/images/flags/INA.gif[INA]
-
http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/images/flags/ENG.gif[ENG] Dean George (http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/player.aspx?id=20293&player=458) http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/images/flags/ENG.gif [ENG] Mariana Agathangelou (http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/player.aspx?id=20293&player=502)
21-14, 21-17 26 minutes

Tomorrow, Fran-Shendy vs. Rizky-Qi Yu... for a spot in the SF.


Wahyu must be playing at this time. Argh, no livescore... :mad:

Wahyu just lost to Peter Mikkelsen 15-21, 18-21

*I hate it when badMania is right* I thought the MS field should be ok for INA's MS in Finland...

Maria Elfira is through! She defeated Anastasia Kudinova 21-17, 21-18. Still waiting for the winner of Anu Nieminen vs. Yu Wakita...

Maria vs Anu...good chance to semi
Frans/rendra are thru to QTR

Fran-Rendra is through to the quarterfinals after defeating Klausen-Oma of Norway 21-7, 21-15 in 17 minutes. Honey-Lewis await them in the next round. Apparently, Fran-Rendra is the only seed left in the top draw... Tim Dettmann-Johannes Schoettler [1] and the pair who beat them in Poland, Adam Cwalina-Wojciech Szkudlardcyzk, are gone... I only recognize Mads Kolding's name in the top draw now. Mads was one of the top Danish [and European] Junior BD just a few years ago.

Fira will play Anu Nieminen tomorrow for a place in the semis... Anu was defeated by Sylvi Kurniawan pretty easily in Poland. But maybe with the home-crowd behind her, she might give Fira a hard time...

Fran-Rendra is through to the quarterfinals after defeating Klausen-Oma of Norway 21-7, 21-15 in 17 minutes. Honey-Lewis await them in the next round. Apparently, Fran-Rendra is the only seed left in the top draw...

Fira will play Anu Nieminen tomorrow for a place in the semis... Anu was defeated by Sylvi Kurniawan pretty easily in Poland. But maybe with the home-crowd behind her, she might give Fira a hard time...
Hope both are thru tomorrow.....

Mel-Shendy have also advanced to the quarterfinals...
Shendy Puspa Irawati (http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/player.aspx?id=20293&player=514)http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/images/flags/INA.gif[INA]
Meiliana Jauhari (http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/player.aspx?id=20293&player=515)http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/images/flags/INA.gif[INA]
-
http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/images/flags/SWE.gif[SWE] Emelie Lennartsson (http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/player.aspx?id=20293&player=431)
http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/images/flags/SWE.gif[SWE] Emma Wengberg (http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/player.aspx?id=20293&player=432)

21-14 21-9 in 19 minutes

They will meet Mariana-Gabrielle of ENG in the quarters...

Mel-Shendy have also advanced to the quarterfinas...
Shendy Puspa Irawati (http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/player.aspx?id=20293&player=514)http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/images/flags/INA.gif[INA] (http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/players.aspx?id=20293&c=INA)Meiliana Jauhari (http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/player.aspx?id=20293&player=515)http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/images/flags/INA.gif[INA] (http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/players.aspx?id=20293&c=INA)-http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/images/flags/SWE.gif[SWE] (http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/players.aspx?id=20293&c=SWE)Emelie Lennartsson (http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/player.aspx?id=20293&player=431)http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/images/flags/SWE.gif[SWE] (http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/players.aspx?id=20293&c=SWE)Emma Wengberg (http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/player.aspx?id=20293&player=432)21-14 21-90:19

They will meet Mariana-Gabrielle of ENG in the quarters...
Another SF is likely....then meeting top seed from denmark...tough...

Mixed Doubles QF
Rizky Kurniawan/Qi Yu vs Fran Kurniawan/Shendy Puspa Irawati -- once again, Fran/Shendy's powers should be too much for their opponents to handle.

Women's Singles QF
Maria Elfira Christina vs Anu Nieminen [4] -- Fira to advance.

Men's Doubles QF
Fran Kurniawan/Rendra Wijaya [4] vs Matthew Honey/Martyn Lewis -- with the loss of the other 2 seeds in their half, it will be an excellent chance for Fran/Rendra to win another title here.

Women's Doubles QF
Mariana Agathangelou/Gabrielle White vs Meiliana Jauhari/Shendy Puspa Irawati -- Mel/Shendy should do well to progress to the SF, where they will meet the top seed Lena Frier-Kristensen/Kamilla Rytter-Juhl.

Wahyu just lost to Peter Mikkelsen 15-21, 18-21

*I hate it when badMania is right* I thought the MS field should be ok for INA's MS in Finland...

Hehehe...sorry bro.....the draw is pretty tough for them.

Great to receive news from Hau-Ge while over at Shenzhen a few hrs back that all the Djarum players have won their QF matches as expected and progressed to the SF.

Fran Kurniawan/Shendy Puspa Irawati have repeated their feat last week in qualifying for their second consecutive Final. They will face Mads Pieler Kolding/Line Damkjaer Kruse for their first title in XD tomorrow. I think they can do it!

Women's Singles Semi-Final
Maria Elfira Christina vs Elizabeth Cann [2] -- Elizabeth Cann beat the European-based Chinese player Li Wenyan, who has a good result in Europe herself, winning a few titles. I hope Fira can beat Cann.

Men's Doubles Semi-Final
Mikkel Elbjorn/Mads Pieler Kolding vs Fran Kurniawan/Rendra Wijaya [4] -- Fran/Rendra should make it to the Final as well and hopefully collect their second titles in Europe.

Women's Doubles Semi-Final
Lena Frier-Kristensen/Kamilla Rytter-Juhl [1] vs Meiliana Jauhari/Shendy Puspa Irawati -- Mel/Shendy have done well in Europe this past fortnight and a rubber-set loss to the top-seed will be considered a good enough result later.

Maria Elfira Christina lost to Elizabeth Cann in 3-sets 21-23, 21-19, 17-21.

Meiliana Jauhari/Shendy Puspa Irawati also pushed the top-seed Lena-Frier Kristensen/Kamilla Rytter-Juhl so hard and they could have won in the second set, but ended up losing in rubber-sets 21-18, 22-24, 15-21.

It was a tough fight to the end for Fran Kurniawan/Rendra Wijaya as they edged out a nail-biting 22-20, 13-21, 22-20 victory over the Danish pair Mikkel Elbjorn/Mads Pieler Kolding in 48 mins. They will face the top-seed Jacob Chemnitz/Mikkel Delbo Larsen in the Final tomorrow. They had beaten their opponent in the Dutch Open R16 last year.

So, Team Djarum for 2 titles tomorrow???

Mixed Doubles FINAL
11:00am Fran Kurniawan/Shendy Puspa Irawati vs Mads Pieler Kolding/Line Damkjaer Kruse -- an excellent chance for Fran/Shendy to establish themselves as INA's upcoming XD pair. They have both the power and aggression to rise up further!

Men's Doubles FINAL
Last match Fran Kurniawan/Rendra Wijaya [4] vs Jacob Chemitz/Mikkel Delbo Larsen [3] -- after the disappointment of going out in R32 last week, Fran/Rendra reedem themselves with a Final appearance tomorrow and they could well collect their second European Challenger titles.

I still predict INA will win 1 or 2 titles in Finland... from MD, WD, and XD... most probably not from WS or MS...

With 2 INA finalist tomorrow and playing against worthy [yet beatable] opponents... I think there is a:

80% chance of INA bringing home 1 title :cool:
60% chance of INA bringing bagging 2 titles... :o

playing 2 finals on the same day is tough, especially after playing 4 matches today! if fran manages to win 2 titles tomorrow, he really is an iron man.

With 2 INA finalist tomorrow and playing against worthy [yet beatable] opponents... I think there is a:

80% chance of INA bringing home 1 title :cool:
60% chance of INA bringing bagging 2 titles... :o

Yup...let's pray that Fran/Shendy and Fran/Rendra will bring home 2 titles.

Team Djarum certainly has a knack of doing well in Europe :cool::rolleyes:

playing 2 finals on the same day is tough, especially after playing 4 matches today! if fran manages to win 2 titles tomorrow, he really is an iron man.

Don't forget that BOTH Fran and Shendy had played a total of 7 matches (3 on Friday and 4 on Saturday) in the space of only 48 hrs :o:eek:

superman, person of strength and glory ... come sing with me ...

How old is Fran and Shendy?

Shendy... mmm... 21 this year. [Because in 2005 she was still an Under-19]
Fran... mmm 23 maybe?

Congratulations to Team Djarum for another fine finish at the Finnish International Challenge 2008!

Fran Kurniawan/Shendy Puspa Irawati drew first blood as they beat Mads Pieler Kolding/Line Damkjaer Kruse 21-12, 21-18 in just 24 mins. That meant that Djarum collected its first XD title.

In the last match, Fran Kurniawan/Rendra Wijaya also won their 2nd titles this year, a small step up from the Austrian International Series title they won a few weeks back. They beat Jacob Chemnitz/Mikkel Delbo Larsen 21-19, 11-21, 21-14 in 45 mins. The next target will be to win a GP Event and hopefully starts doing well in GP Gold Events.

Excellent!!! 2 titles for INA!!! :cool::cool:

Fran/Rendra will rise up to hopefully the top 40 with the 4000 ranking pts earned in Finland.

Fran/Shendy will also shoot up the rankings table from 86 to around top 65.

congrats to team Indonesia:)
for taking 2 titles here.

congrats to team Indonesia:)
for taking 2 titles here.

Yeah INA needs glory here and there... :p Keeps us all hopeful... :D

Excellent!!! 2 titles for INA!!! :cool::cool:

congratz to Ina (Djarum) :D

elizabeth cann
martin larsen
Fran and wijaya

Elizabeth Cann will be tough player in future...I have seen her play a couple of time...Go Elizabeth!

I was there watching the tournament and actually it was my first time in an international tournament. I really loved the women singles, men singles and especially men doubles, which was won by Fran/Rendra. Martin Larsen also played very aggressively and accurately in men singles which he won. I just wish I had a camera with me..

Congrats to all the winners and of course to every player in the tournament! :)

did u took any photos, mcjoel??

I don't own a camera, so I couldn't take a single photo. But next time (FIC 2009), I think I'll have a camera with me!

the number of games fran and rendra have played in this tournament in such a short time is unbelievable.
and for fran to win 2 titles as well, he might be knackered.

My tournament photos
Qualifications (http://www.kolumbus.fi/jarmo.vikman/Jarmo/sulkapallokuvat/FIC2008_3.4.2008/index.html)
Main-FirstRounds (http://www.kolumbus.fi/jarmo.vikman/Jarmo/sulkapallokuvat/FIC2008_4.4.2008/index.html)
QF-SF (http://www.kolumbus.fi/jarmo.vikman/Jarmo/sulkapallokuvat/FIC2008_5.4.2008/index.html)
Finals (http://www.kolumbus.fi/jarmo.vikman/Jarmo/sulkapallokuvat/FIC2008_6.4.2008/index.html)

My tournament photos
Qualifications (http://www.kolumbus.fi/jarmo.vikman/Jarmo/sulkapallokuvat/FIC2008_3.4.2008/index.html)
Main-FirstRounds (http://www.kolumbus.fi/jarmo.vikman/Jarmo/sulkapallokuvat/FIC2008_4.4.2008/index.html)
QF-SF (http://www.kolumbus.fi/jarmo.vikman/Jarmo/sulkapallokuvat/FIC2008_5.4.2008/index.html)
Finals (http://www.kolumbus.fi/jarmo.vikman/Jarmo/sulkapallokuvat/FIC2008_6.4.2008/index.html)
Thanks for the photos. Great shots.
Thought you have a player by the name Ville Lang?

My tournament photos
Qualifications (http://www.kolumbus.fi/jarmo.vikman/Jarmo/sulkapallokuvat/FIC2008_3.4.2008/index.html)
Main-FirstRounds (http://www.kolumbus.fi/jarmo.vikman/Jarmo/sulkapallokuvat/FIC2008_4.4.2008/index.html)
QF-SF (http://www.kolumbus.fi/jarmo.vikman/Jarmo/sulkapallokuvat/FIC2008_5.4.2008/index.html)
Finals (http://www.kolumbus.fi/jarmo.vikman/Jarmo/sulkapallokuvat/FIC2008_6.4.2008/index.html)
very nice pics..........thank you!

Thanks for the photos. Great shots.
Thought you have a player by the name Ville Lang?

Ville didn't make far this year. We haven't seen any finnish player playing FIC-finals since Kasperi Salo 2004. Of course that would be nice but also so was to see all the enthusiastic players from all around the world, like Western Samoa and Sri Lanka etc, playing here. And like last year we could again see a strong team from Djarum Badminton Club, Indonesia. Nice tournament.

I think Carl Baxter had a great tournament.
i trained with him in malaysia over the summer under ong beng teong, and he seemed quite inconsistent at the start, but he must really be playing well at the moment, good on him, good to see some more english players doing well in the singles apart from andrew smith, whom had a big india open by the looks of things

My tournament photos
Qualifications (http://www.kolumbus.fi/jarmo.vikman/Jarmo/sulkapallokuvat/FIC2008_3.4.2008/index.html)
Main-FirstRounds (http://www.kolumbus.fi/jarmo.vikman/Jarmo/sulkapallokuvat/FIC2008_4.4.2008/index.html)
QF-SF (http://www.kolumbus.fi/jarmo.vikman/Jarmo/sulkapallokuvat/FIC2008_5.4.2008/index.html)
Finals (http://www.kolumbus.fi/jarmo.vikman/Jarmo/sulkapallokuvat/FIC2008_6.4.2008/index.html)
..for sharing the pics, javix!:)..Just saw them..And welcome to BC!:cool: