Graz: Sunday’s weather in Graz, Austria was between 13 Celcius to 21 Celcius, but the rainy and cold temperature couldn’t cool off the red-hot Choong Hon Jian/Toh Ee Wei of Malaysia by winning the 2021 Austrian Open, their third title since winning the Polish Open on March 28, 2021, and Slovenia International on May 22, 2021.
The unseeded Choong Hon Jian/Toh Ee Wei had to play two matches on Sunday before emerged as the champions. They first needed 32 minutes to battle past compatriots Beh Chun Meng/Cheng Su Hui 21-16, 19-21, 21-13 in the semi-final that took place in the morning, before setting up a final encounter with No. 1 seeds William Villeger/Sharone Bauer of France.
The mixed doubles final saw Choong/Toh dropped the first set to Villeger/Bauer 16-21. However, the Malaysian pair overcame the sluggish start to claim the second game 21-9.
It took the Malaysian pair until the middle of the decider to come out of their lethargy and start hitting shots with confidence against the No. 1 seeds, coming back from 1-6, 6-11 to beat the French pair 21-19 in the third set.
In another Malaysia versus France final, young Malaysian men’s doubles pair claimed their first international title at the senior level by beating No. 5 seeds Lucas Corvee/Ronan Labar 21-17, 21-15 for the Austrian Open title.
Indonesia’s Ni Ketut Mahadewi Istarani/Serena Kani spoiled Malaysia’s plan for a third title on Sunday when they put up a great performance to tame Anna Cheong/Yap Cheng Wen 21-11, 21-16 in the women’s doubles final.
The men’s singles qualifier – Panji Ahmad Maulana of Indonesia brought double joy to Indonesia as he beat Arnaud Merkle of France 11-21, 21-8, 21-15 in the final.
Spain player, the No. 1 seed Clara Azurmendi picked up the women’s singles title when she outlasted No. 6 seed Yaelle Hoyaux of France 21-6, 21-14 to win Austria Open.
