Sunday, May 29, 2011
There was no fairy tale ending for Denmark’s Peter Gade as China once again crushed his dreams of winning the Sudirman Cup.
Twelve years ago, Denmark had reached their first ever Sudirman Cup final with Gade then ranked world No. 1. But there was nothing he could do then or now as China’s overall strength shone on both occasions for comprehensive victories
Gade, who had announced he would retire next year, entered the 2011 Double Star BWF Sudirman Cup World Mixed Team Championships with a dream to play Lin Dan (pictured right), in the final at the Qingdao Sports Centre Conson Stadium.
That dream turned into a nightmare on Sunday as the three-times world champion crushed Gade 21-16, 21-11 to give China a 2-0 lead.
"It is almost impossible to beat China on their own ground. You need a few things to get together before you can do it," said the 34-year-old former world No. 1.
"They've not been under much pressure in the tournament and they still had a lot left in the reserves. Maybe we used a bit more energy along the way, and if we are to beat them, we need that extra edge. We need to be honest, they could almost put out two teams which could make the final. I would have been nice to bow out with a gold medal but I'm still proud we managed to reach the final."
Lin Dan, for his part, acknowledged that Gade is still a formidable opponent and expressed amazement at the Dane's long career.
"It is amazing that he can still be among the top players in the world at his age," said Lin Dan, who turns 28 on Oct 14. "I don't know how he does it and I'm not sure if I can even stick around for that long."
Earlier, All England champions Xu Chen-Ma Jin destroyed Swiss Open winners Joachim Fischer Nielsen-Christinna Pedersen(pictured left) 21-14, 21-14 in the mixed doubles as China got off to a perfect start in their quest to win their eighth Sudirman Cup and fourth on the bounce.
"We could not match them today and but we gave it our best effort," said Pedersen. "They were just too fast for us. I enjoyed the occasion but not so much the results! Hopefully, we can have another chance the next time."
Three-times world champions, Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng, who were beaten by Jung Jae Sung-Lee Yong Dae in the semi-final against South Korea, redeemed their pride when they beat scratch pair Carsten Mogensen-Jonas Rasmussen 21-17, 21-13 to make it 3-0 in only two hours and 11 minutes.
Besides China, only Indonesia and South Korea have emerged as the champions in the biennial series with Denmark the only country from Europe reaching the final.
Results
Men’s singles
Men’s doublesCai Yun-Fu Haifeng bt Carsten Mogensen-Jonas Rasmussen 21-17, 21-13
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