2023 FIR Racketlon World Doubles Championships – Day 1

It was a busy first day at the 2023 FIR Racketlon World Doubles Championships, which saw the conclusion of several senior categories. The men’s and women’s elite semi-finalists have been decided, as well as the mixed elite final. Read more about what happened on day 1…

Both top seeds struggle in the semi-finals but manage to get through, Plettenberg/Thyregod cause an upset

It was a hard day for the men’s elite doubles. Top seeds Luke and Leon Griffiths managed to battle past Radermacher/Wiessner. They got behind in table-tennis, losing it 15-21 before taking the lead back with a 21-17 score in badminton. They went on to win squash 21-15 and tennis 18-8 but it was a tough match. The overall score was +14 (15-21 21-17 21-15 18-8). Afterwards, they said it was especially tennis that couldn’t have gone any better, and that they look forward to whoever they are facing next. Their semi-final opponents are Plettenberg/Thyregod who defeated third seeds Champod/Duthuillé in a high-quality match. Plettenberg/Thyregod lost table-tennis 21-16 but took badminton 21-12. They went from strength to strength as they took squash 21-11 before winning tennis 8-0. The overall score was +22 (16-21 21-12 21-11 8-0).

The other semi-final will be between Hageraats/Lenggenhager and Hougaard/Jaksland. Hageraats/Lenggenhager beat Finnish duo Pennanen/Penttinen +23 (21-11 21-15 21-14). Especially squash had some very long and tough rallies, but the number four seeds did enough to win the match before tennis.

Hougaard/Jaksland had to come from behind against wildcards Kainulainen/Mustonen to earn their spot in the semi-finals. They started well taking table tennis and badminton 21-10 and 21-12, before losing 12-21 in squash. Tennis was probably the most tense match of the day, as Kainulainen/Mustonen raced to an 11-2 lead. Hougaard/Jaksland needed 12 points, whilst Kainulainen/Mustonen needed 21. Kainulainen/Mustonen seemed to run away with the match, taking a 16-4 lead with some incredible shots and some dives from Mustonen (unfortunately not caught on camera) but the Danes regrouped to 11-19, a double fault from Hougaard making it 11-20 and then another tense rally that saw Hougaard/Jaksland win the match. Afterwards, they said that it was the same as two years ago when they won the event and they will go into their next match with full confidence.

The men’s elite semi-finals will start at 10AM tomorrow. The draw can be found here.

Top seeds through to the final in the mixed doubles

Jacobsen/Radermacher and Enmer/Griffiths are through to the finals of the mixed elite doubles tomorrow. Jacobsen/Radermacher are in fine form, winning both their matches before tennis. Their first match was against Paul/Wiessner which they won +28 (21-15 21-11 21-9). Their semi-final was against a surprise opponent as K A/Narayanaswamy defeated Allègre/Champod in a thrilling quarter-final match by only three points. The score was +3 (10-21 21-15 21-19 21-15). Jacobsen/Radermacher proved too strong in the semi-finals, taking it +27 (21-19 21-10 21-7).

On the bottom half of the draw, Enmer/Griffiths took out wildcards Fischer/Pentinnen, taking the match +15 (11-21 21-12 21-7 9-7). They then went on to beat Ahlmer/Thyregod, who defeated Parslow/Bispham in their quarter-final by +22 (21-13 21-7 22-24 2-0) where especially squash between Bispham/Thyregod was very hard and long, trading points at the end. In the semi-finals, it were Enmer/Griffiths who were the stronger pair, taking it +20 (15-21 21-17 21-14 17-2).

The mixed elite final starts tomorrow at 3PM. The full draw can be found here.

Sam/Harca take the u21 title

Sam/Harca defeated top-seeds Wilson/Davidson in a thrilling final. Both duo’s won their semi-finals quite convincingly before tennis. In the final, it were Sam/Harca who took the lead and managed to keep it throughout the match. They won table-tennis 21-17, badminton 21-18, and squash 21-16 which meant that they only needed 10 points in tennis. They had to switch to the clay courts because it was already getting dark outside, but that didn’t change the outcome of the match. They continued their good form to win 10-4. A big celebration for the pair as a lot of their Austrian teammates were there to cheer them on and a big result for both of them winning their first U21 doubles title. (foto’s to follow)

Men’s D/E and Senior titles for Ablert/Sági, Bramhall/Crowther, Jacobsen/Smit and Clapp/King

The beginner doubles were won by Albert/Sági who won both their matches against Sam/Sam +12 (22-20 18-21 32-30 21-10) in what could be the longest squash match ever, and Solomon/Solomon +33 (21-8 21-12 21-17 21-14). Sam/Sam finished second and Solomon/Solomon finished third. The mixed +40 doubles were won by Jacobsen/Smit who defeated Kaptein/Suorsa +33 (21-16 21-4 21-10) in the final. Ball/Lesser +14 (12-21 21-12 21-7 8-8).

The mixed +45 doubles were won by Bramhall/Crowther who defeated Dübendorfer/Fyrst +10 (21-19 11-21 21-18 21-6) and Maldre/Kleiber. The seniors +65 doubles title went to Clapp/King who retained their title. They defeated Veldkamp/D’Arcy +4 (21-12 21-16 18-21 11-18) and Jordan/Ryan +47 (21-7 21-5 21-4).