BADMINTON: Denmark and Korea tops at Spain Masters in Barcelona

Danish star Viktor Axelsen (Photo: BWF)

The singles finals were all Denmark and Korean teams nearly swept the doubles matches in the finals of the Spain Masters tournament in Barcelona.

Both of the singles matches featured Dane vs. Dane action, with Viktor Axelsen defeating Anders Antonsen, 21-14, 21-11 in the men’s final. The women’s title match had Mia Blitchfeldt handling teammate Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt, 21-14, 21-14.

Korean teams won the women’s and Mixed Doubles events, but lost in the finals of the men’s Doubles; Seung Jae Seo won two medals, winning in the Mixed final, but losing in the men’s final. Summaries:

BWF World Tour/Spain Masters
Barcelona (ESP) ~ 19-24 February 2019
(Full results here)

Men’s Singles: 1. Viktor Axelsen (DEN); 2. Anders Antonsen (DEN); 3. Pengbo Ren (CHN) and Junpeng Zhao (CHN). Semis: Axelsen d. Ren, 21-9, 17-21, 5-4 (retired); Antonsen d. Zhao, 21-7, 9-21, 21-17. Final: Axelsen d. Antonsen, 21-14, 21-11.

Men’s Doubles: 1. Yang Lee/Chi-Lin Wang (TPE); 2. Won Ho Kim/Seung Jae Seo (KOR); 3. Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen (DEN) and Ching Yao Lu/Po Han Yang (TPE). Semis: Lee/Wang d. Boe/Morgensen, 21-16, 26-24; Kim/Seo d. Lu/Yang, 21-8, 18-21, 22-20. Final: Lee/Wang d. Kim/Seo, 21-8, 23-21.

Women’s Singles: 1. Mia Blichfeldt (DEN); 2. Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt (DEN); 3. Yue Han (CHN) and Yanyan Cai (CHN). Semis: Kjaersfeldt d. Han, 18-21, 21-5, 22-20; Blichfeldt d. Cai, 21-16, 13-21, 21-13. Final: Blichfeldt d. Kjaersfeldt, 21-14, 21-14.

Women’s Doubles: 1. So Yeong Kim/Hee Yong Kong (KOR); 2. Nami Matsuyama/Chiharu Shida (JPN); 3. Gabriela Stoeva/Stefani Stoeva (BUL) and Ha Na Baek/Hye Rin Kim (KOR). Semis: Kim/Kong d. Stoeva/Stoeva, 21-19, 18-21, 21-17; Matsuyama/Shida d. Baek/Kim, 21-13, 24-22. Final: Kim/Kong d. Matsuyama/Shida, 23-21, 15-21, 21-17.

Mixed Doubles: 1. Seung Jae Seo/YuJung Chae (KOR); 2. Chi-Lin Wang/Chi Ya Cheng (TPE); 3. Marcus Ellis/Lauren Smith (ENG) and SolGyu Choi/So Yeong Kim (KOR). Semis: Seo/Chae d. Ellis/Smith, 14-21, 21-3, 21-19; Wang/Cheng d. Choi/Kim, 21-18, 21-14. Final: Seo/Chae d. Wang/Cheng, 21-8, 23-21.