Luke Penttinen has collected his first ever FIR World Tour elite singles title after defeating Nicolas Lenggenhager to win the IWT Finnish Open.
In the Women’s Singles, Anna-Klara Ahlmer retained her title to pick up a first singles title of the 2019 season.
Men’s A Singles: Penttinen Wins Inaugural Title at Home Tournament
Last year the IWT Finnish Open saw a home champion in Henrik Mustonen. This year it was top seeded Finn Luka Penttinen who won.
In the final, Penttinen faced Nicolas Lenggenhager. The Swiss player was into his first Elite Singles final after defeating No.2 seed Rav Rykowski in the opening round.
After the badminton, Lenggenhager held a six point advantage. Penttinen took the table tennis 21-13 before the Swiss player retaliated with a 21-7 badminton win.
However, Penttinen dominated the squash set. The top seed took an early lead and never looked back, winning the squash 21-8 to leave him needing 15 for the win.
Despite Lenggenhager’s best efforts it was Penttinen who controlled the tennis. Eventually, the top seed sealed his title with a 15-8 victory. The maiden elite singles title now means that all of the current top-10 possess at least one.
Otto Tennila took the bronze medal by three points in an excellent match against fellow Finn Tommi Laine.
Women’s A Singles: Ahlmer Retains IWT Finnish Open Title
Anna-Klara Ahlmer produced a number of clinical displays as she strolled to a first Women’s A Singles title of the season.
Ahlmer went into Sunday knowing that a likely showdown with Kirsten Kaptein would decide the title. That was confirmed after she began with a +32 win over Kaisu Anttila and Kaptein defeated Svetlana Kasilova.
In the decisive encounter, Ahlmer was ultimately dominant. Kaptein won the table tennis 21-17 but that was as far as her success came. Ahlmer turned the screw, winning the badminton 21-2 before sealing the squash 21-8. The quickfire wins in badminton and squash were enough to ensure that Ahlmer retained her IWT Finnish Open tile.
That marks Ahlmer’s first singles title of the 2019 season. Bronze was won by Kaisu Anttila after she defeated both Kasilova and Anna Wall.
Men’s B Singles: Top Seed Pennanen Wins Title
Similar to the Men’s A singles, it was a top-seeded Finn that won the Men’s B singles. In the final it was Joel Pennanen who fought off the tough challenge of Hong Kong’s Kevin Ho Ching Ng, winning the match by six points.
In the semi-finals Pennanen had strolled past Seppo Raiski while Ho Ching Ng defeated Sami Lithenius.
Pennanen had to battle back in the final after losing both of the first two sets. The Hong Kong player won table tennis 21-14 and badminton 21-9 to lead by 19.
However, Pennanen almost entirely reduced that deficit with a 21-3 squash win and followed that up with a 21-14 tennis win to secure the title. That marks Pennanen’s first Men’s B title for three years as the youngster continues to improve.
Men’s C Singles: Seregin Wins Gold for Russia
The most dramatic final of the day came in the Men’s C singles as Russia’s Sergei Seregin won a gumi arm to clinch his first FIR World Tour singles title.
Seregin faced Poland’s Martin Lorkiewicz in the final but the duo were inseparable through the first four sets. It would take a gumi arm to separate them with Seregin emerging victorious.
Finland’s Markus Rama came third after defeating Darius Adam Walczak.
Men’s A and Mixed B Doubles
Two doubles finals were held over from Friday; the Men’s A and Mixed B Doubles.
Four nationalities were represented in the Men’s A Doubles final as Hong Kong’s Kevin Ho Ching Ng and Finland’s Otto Tennila faced Switzerland’s Nicolas Lenggenhager and Sweden’s Rene Lindberg.
For the second tournament in a row the Men’s A Doubles final was a classic. Tennila and Ho Ching Ng won the table tennis 21-8 and backed that up with a 21-18 in badminton.
Their opponents began to rally though. Lenggenhager and Lindberg struck back with a 21-14 squash set. They almost completed the comeback, however Ho Ching Ng and Tennila got the 13 they needed in the tennis, albeit with Lenggenhager and Lindberg on 19 points.
The Mixed B Doubles final was a much more straightforward affair. Russian duo Svetlana Kasilova and Sergei Seregin needed just three points in tennis against Kaisu Anttila and Artem Gankim.
Juniors and Seniors
It’s been an impressive comeback year for Piers Boden and he’s added to it with a third Juniors U21 title of the year.
The crucial match for Boden came against top seed and Men’s B champion Joel Pennanen. Boden won the first three sports to give him a crucial +16 win and the title.
In the Seniors+45 it’s Rafal Szlazak who takes home the title. Last year’s Men’s C champion edged a close +5 win over Pauli Byckling in the decisive box league match.
The final title of the tournament went to Pekka Tennila as he triumphed in the Seniors +60 title. Tennila beat fellow Finn Jari Kortelainen by +22 points, keeping his tennis racket in his bag.
The Men’s A singles final is available to rewatch on the Finland Racketlon Facebook page.
The full results from the IWT Finnish Open are available here.
The tournament report from the opening day of singles action is available here.
The full FIR World Tour is available here.
Sam Barker / FIR Media
Image Credit / Poku Salo