Abigail Holden powered to the final of the Dutch Open to end a positive week for English talent on show in the Netherlands.
Holden did not drop a game on the way to the showpiece where she lost a tightly fought match against Estonia’s Kristin Kuuba, succumbing 23-21, 21-18.
The 22-year-old’s remarkable run came after she was promoted from the qualifiers ahead of the start of the tournament, before beating the eighth seed to advance to the final.
The 2021 Hellas International champion began her campaign with a 21-13, 21-11 victory over Daniella Gonda of Hungary, before securing two more straight-games victories over Clara Lassaux of Belgium and qualifier Maryna Ilyinskaya of Ukraine.
Those wins set up a showdown with the Indian eighth seed Aakarshi Kashyap which Holden came through comfortably dispatching her opponent 21-17, 21-9.
In the final, Holden was up against a player ranked 124 places higher than her at 51st in the women’s singles rankings, and Kuuba’s experience showed as she came through in straight sets to clinch the title.
Kristin Kuuba (Estland) verslaat Abigail Holden (Engeland) met 23-21 en 21-18 in de finale van het vrouwenenkel!#topbadminton #badminton #YDO21 pic.twitter.com/2qvIF2Uwsd
— BADMlNTON NL (@BadmintonNLD) October 17, 2021
Elsewhere, three English pairings made it to the quarterfinals in the doubles.
In the women’s doubles, two English pairings made it to the quarterfinals with Abbygael Harris and Hope Warner fighting back from a game down in Round 2.
Having beaten the Czech duo of Alžběta Bášová and Michaela Fuchsova in the first round, the pair came back to defeat France’s Flavie Vallet and Emilie Vercelot 19-21, 21-17, 21-18 to advance to the quarter-final stage.
There they came up against Debora Jille and Cheryl Seinen of the Netherlands losing in three games having forced a decider, with the Netherlands duo prevailing 21-13, 19-21, 21-15 on their way to the final.
A Dutch pairing also defeated England’s Jessica Pugh and Jessica Hopton in the quarter-final in what was the two Jessicas’ first match of the tournament.
Pugh and Hopton had received back-to-back walkovers in Round One and Two before taking on Alyssa Tirtosentono and Imke Van der Aar losing 14-21, 21-12, 21-15.
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— Badminton England (@BadmintonEnglnd) October 8, 2021
Elsewhere in the women’s draw, Lizzie Tolman partnered Denmark’s Iben Bergstein to the second-round stage with Grace King and Annie Lado losing in the first round.
Freya Redfearn also suffered a first-round defeat in the women’s singles, losing to the Czech Republic’s Tereza Švábíková 21-14, 21-13.
In the men’s doubles, the seventh seeds Rory Eaton and Zach Russ led the way, reaching the quarter-finals having dispatched the Czech pairing of Ondřej Král and Adam Mendrek 21-19 21-14 in the first round before coming through a decider in the second round.
At the quarter-final stage, Eaton and Russ were unable to take a game off Denmark’s Emil Lauritzen and Mads Vestergaard, losing 21-13, 21-14.
Lauritzen and Vestergaard had advanced to the quarterfinals having beaten England’s Avinash Gupta and Brandon Zhi Hao Yap 21-8 21-19, with Max Flynn and Jonty Russ losing in straight games in Round 1.
In the mixed doubles, only one English pairing made it out of Round One with Max Flynn combining with Hope Warner to defeat Malaysia’s Tze Jian Lim and Kha Yan Wong 21-17, 21-17 before losing in straight games to Indonesia.
