Almere: When Malaysians Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong are playing like they were playing Sunday afternoon at Topsportcentrum in the Dutch Open finals, it reminded us of their awesomeness on the badminton court a few years back.
The Malaysians had total control from the opening point against No.2 seeds Manu Attri/B. Sumeeth Reddy of India in the Dutch Open men’s doubles final, overwhelming the Indians 21-15 in the first set that ended with a powerful smash from Tan Boon Heong from the left side of the court.
Koo/Tan continued their commanding performance in the second set, getting a huge 9-1 lead before the Indian pair broke back to start adding couple points for themselves. The remainder of the second set saw Manu Attri/B. Sumeeth Reddy desperately trying to get back in the game, but early holes proved too deep for the Indian pair to dig out of. Koo/Tan’s relentless attack and defense never let the Indians get comfortable, leading at 19-10 the Malaysian pair reeled off two more points and en route to a 21-10 victory.
Dutch Open was the third title of the year for Koo/Tan, they had previously won the Sri Lanka International Challenge in June and 2015 White Nights in July.
Number two seeds Gabriela Stoeva/Stefani Stoeva of Bulgaria were able to pull off a minor upset over top seeds Eefje Muskens/Selena Piek of Netherlands in the women’s doubles final. The first set was a test of wills as Stoeva sisters, went toe-to-toe against the defiant home favorites Muskens/Piek with the crowd squarely in their corner. Allowing the Netherlands pair to fight back from 18-20 to force deuce, Gabriela Stoeva/Stefani Stoeva saved 2 set point to eventually outlasting Muskens/Piek 24-22 to win the first set.
Gabriela Stoeva/Stefani Stoeva kept up the pressure against the Eefje Muskens/Selena Piek in the second set. The Bulgarian were riding a hyper-aggressive game after the interval to give themselves an unassailable 16-11 lead, gliding to an impressive second set victory with 21-15 to claim the Dutch Open women’s doubles crown together with prize money USD $3950.
Three weeks after reaching his maiden Super Series final at Korea Open, Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram clinched the Dutch Open men’s singles title on Sunday as he defeated No. 12 seed and World No.48 Raul Must in a one-sided match, winning 21-12, 21-18 in 34-minute.
No. 4 seeds Ronan Labar/Emilie Lefel of France staged a great mixed doubles final to overcome No. 5 seed Sudket Prapakamol/Saralee Thoungthongkam of Thailand 21-10, 21-18 for the Dutch Open crown.
In women’s singles final, No. 5 seed Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland crushed No. 3 seed Karin Schnaase of Germany 21-16, 21-13 in 37 minutes to lift the Dutch Open title.
