Choi Solgyu and Seo Seung Jae were still basking in the glow of their upset of top seeds Gideon and Sukamuljo when another mini-quake shook the TOTAL BWF World Championships 2019 today.

Germans Mark Lamsfuss and Marvin Seidel blew open the third quarter of the men’s doubles draw, taking down fifth seeds Hiroyuki Endo and Yuta Watanabe. With the two upsets ringing through the St. Jakobshalle Basel, it looked like a dangerous session for other favoured players.

However, there were no more mishaps for the seeds in the opening session, with Chou Tien Chen, Tai Tzu Ying, Pusarla V Sindhu and Beiwen Zhang easing into the third round.

Patience Pays Off

It was heavy going in the men’s doubles, with quick winners hard to come by as the shuttle played slow. If the Koreans were steadier than Gideon and Sukamuljo in the top quarter, the Germans showed the same virtues in the opposite half of the draw. Lamsfuss and Seidel got a lead and held it in the decider. The Japanese found their sharpness too late, coming to within a point of equalising, but the Germans showed great opportunism on their fourth match point, dashing to the net and grabbing the winner at 21-17 20-22 21-19.

“We just kept our focus. I was really tired as I had two tough matches yesterday, but it was just about keeping on fighting till the end,” said Lamsfuss.

“If you’re mentally ready for this, it’s quite good,” added Lamsfuss, speaking about the slow conditions. “And with this slower hall, we can play a lot of defence. We don’t have to rush so much, because we can just play high from close to the floor, so I like to play here.”

Talking Point

“I think the conditions are tough if you are the favourite, because you want to get the attack through but it’s difficult, because your opponent can defend well. It’s easier for the underdogs, because they’re ready to fight hard. But of course I think the World Championships are different, it’s most important tournament of the year and everyone wants to win so it’s more pressure for the top seeds.” – Marvin Seidel, after the German upset of fifth seeds Endo and Watanabe.

Other Results

• Europe had reason to cheer early in the day, with Dutch mixed doubles pair Robin Tabeling/Selena Piek taking down 13^th seeds He Ji Ting/Du Yue 22-20 21-18.
• Australian Wendy Chen rocketed past women’s singles ninth seed Beiwen Zhang before the USA player got a grip and won 12 points in a row for the first game and continued with that momentum. The match was over in 31 minutes in Zhang’s favour, 21-14 21-13.
• Men’s doubles third seeds Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda were given a wake-up call by Russians Vladimir Ivanov/Ivan Sozonov; the Japanese cruised through in the end, 21-12 19-21 21-14.

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