Two of Gothenburg's Many Strong Racketlon Players: Kristian Karttunen, to the left, (reached the second round in Men's Elite and came 4th in Mix) and Staffan Kanen who impressively reached the semifinal in Men's Elite.
GOTHENBURG OPEN 2006
'
Two of Gothenburg's Many
Strong Racketlon Players: Kristian Karttunen, to the left, (reached the second
round in Men's Elite and came 4th in Mix) and Staffan Kanen who impressively
reached the semifinal in Men's Elite.
Gothenburg
Racketlon's Strongest Performance Ever
-14 Medals for Gothenburg Racketlon Club
Women's Elite
Gothenburg's Racketlon Queen is Back where she
Belongs
Lilian Druve, Gothenburg, Sweden and the World's
Racketlon Queen Photo: BMM
Lilian Druve
Linda Jansson, the World-Champion, was expected to win this class. Noone
really believed that Lilian Druve would have a chance. Rumours said that the
former World-Champion, Lilian Druve, had given up Racketlon. I, personally,
thought she had given up months ago. But how wrong I was. I was the referee in
the final between Jansson and Druve. What a game it was. In the
table-tennis they both looked extremely focused. Jansson hits the ball a
bit harder than Druve in most sports but perhaps Druve is a bit more solid. In
the table-tennis Druve was the one who made the least mistakes. This is why she
won the table-tennis with so much, 21-13.
In the badminton, it looked like Druve was going
to destroy Jansson totally, she was up 14-2, but then Jansson really started
playing well and Druve started to miss a few easy shots. The final score was
21-10 for Druve. Druve was now 19 points up before squash. Was this a good score
for Druve? In the break I asked Annelie, Lilian sister, what she thought of the
score; "This is a really, really good start for Lilian if she keeps on
playing like this and is even in squash she will have a good chance of winning
the game":
The squash game started up a bit slow, both
players seemed a bit nervous. After a while, however, Jansson started hitting
the ball very hard, it didn't seem like Druve would have a chance. But she kept
on getting most of the balls back and the score was even after half the game.
During the start of the second half of the game Jansson played really really
well. She was in the lead with many points and it looked tough for Druve. But at
the end however, Druve came back strongly with a bit of help of the audience and
her coach. The final score was 21-16 for Linda Jansson. Druve needed 8 points in
tennis to win the game. It looked like a very unpredictable game, considering
Jansson is a professional tennis player.
Photo:
BMM
Linda Jansson, a professional tennis player
The tennis never really got exciting, Druve was just too good today, the final
score was 14-8 for Jansson and Lilian has now again proven that she is the best
the world. What a remarkable player this is. We hope she keeps on playing like
this in the World-Championships in Holland next year. With the help of her new
boyfriend/coach (?) she could reach all the way. Congratulations Lilian Druve,
you are truly amazing.
Men's Elite
Västerås Dominates Open,
but Gothenburg has got the far strongest troup. Gothenburg's Regional
Championship will be tremendously interesting
Three very strong racketlon
players, Kristian Karttunen, Staffan Kanen & Olle Benéus
Gothenburg Open ran smoothly this
year as well. Thanks to the managment team, Alelyckan and everyone else at the
tournament. It was very difficult to predict the winner in the Elite Class this
year,
but many of us thought Stefan Adamsson, former nr1 in the world, would win it
easily. Who else could take him down? We knew Joachim Nilsson had fought bravely
against him in the Swedish Championships, but other than that it seemed clear
Adamsson would win. One was also interested to see what the Germans could do in
this tournament, Köpf, Zwiers, Nowicki and Kudicke. How far would they go? And
the Austrian, Marcel Weigl? What about
all the Gothenburg players, how far would they go? And Calum Reid, the young
Scot who had played so well lately, could he go all the way? What about Rickard
Persson, was it his turn this time?
Noone of these players mentioned managed to win the Elite Class, instead,
Christian Wall, from Västerås could go all the way. Wall beat Rickard Persson
in a tough final match. Wall hasn't played Racketlon for a long time a bit over
2 years, but he is a professional tennis player. Wall has showed that with right
attitude and right focus one can actually become nr 1 in the World. On the other
hand, Magnus Eliasson and Mikko Kärkkäinen did not participate this time. It
will be interesting to see what the New Star, Christian Wall can do about these
guys.
Nr 1, Christian Wall and nr 2 in
Gothenburg
Open,
Persson, Wall and Adamsson. A Mighty Field.
Rickard Persson. Future Worldchampions?
Photo: BMM
Now over to our Gothenburg Heroes,
Gothenburg had many
participants in the Men's Elite. I don't think we have ever have had so many
strong players in the Elite.
Staffan Kanen
Probably the strongest player in Gothenburg at the moment. Staffan reached
the semifinal, he beat nr 3 in the world in the quarterfinal. Winning
table-tennis by 21-10. Unbelievable. His table-tennis has always been his
weakest sport, but I am not sure about this anymore. His table-tennis is very
solid, very solid indeed. And his tennis is unbelievably good. If Staffan
concentrates more on racketlon and less on tennis I am positive he would become
the best in the world. My advice to you Staffan is to, more or less, stuff
tennis, and focus on Racketlon. You can win money in racketlon and become the
best in the world. Face it you can't become the best in the world in tennis, can
you?
Photo:
BMM
Staffan Kanen, now a mighty strong
Kanen, good badminton as always
table-tennis player
Niclas Larsson
Other people have told me that I did my strongest tournament ever and I will
not be modest I agree with them. In the first round I beat Mikael Jonsson by 18
points. Jonsson has beaten Ola Carleke, former nr 3 in British Open and Jonsson
beat Marcel Weigl (nr 5 in the world) last year and has reached the
quarterfinal in many Swedish Championships. In the second round I lost against
Henrik Håkansson by 2 points. I did my worst table-tennis ever loosing 21-7 but
then I did my best tennis ever winning 20-18, leading 19-15. I felt like Mikael
Pernfors when he lost against Pat Cash in Davis Cup. I am usually not a
happy loser but this time I feel happy even though I lost. Next time Håkansson,
then, I will not loose. Håkan Granberg apparently commented on the way I played:
"I could never loose against Niclas, or maybe now when I am not properly
trained". Interesting... I would like to thank Jukka Salminen and Daniel
Majetic for my results in this tournament, without you guys I would be crap. I
think I, and many of us Gothenburg Players, can reach the top of racketlon, but
then we need to help each other even more. I was really happy and played a lot
better when Karttunen and others supported me in my tennis game against
Håkansson. I am fit (38 minutes on 10,1km in the forest) and light weight (lost
12kilos), now I need to focus on technique in all sports and to be more stable
in table-tennis and tennis.
The Racketlon-athlete, Henrik
Håkansson
Photo: BMM
Kristian Karttunen
The badminton champ, Kristian
Karttunen
Photo: BMM
Winner of Gothenburg's Regional Championships, phenomenally good at
badminton, getting 17 points of nr 8 in the World in badminton just before the
tournament. Karttunen played well, reaching the second round. Karttunen could
definitely reach the top of racketlon if he just starts to play a bit more of
table-tennis. I agree with the Germans when they say it was an enjoyment to
watch Karttunen play badminton. What a smash this guy got, I have never seen
anyone jump this high.
Stefan Engström
Stefan Engtröm focused on
Gothenburg's Regional Championship.
Engström did well in this tournament, loosing by just a few points against
strong player Örjan Lundberg. Then he won his first game in the Plate.
Engström says he is not as fit as he uses to be. I was surprised he could play
so well, because he doesn't compete so often. We do miss him in Top tournaments.
But Engström is a true racketloneer he always plays good. One better watch up
for him in Gothenburg's Regional Championship. "I will train hard for that
says Engström". Perhaps Engström needs to work on his stamina because he
has got the technique he needs to reach the very top of Racketlon. Engström has
done an exceptional job with this tournament and deserves credit for it.
Kristofer Ziegler
Kristofer Ziegler, the serve-champ
Ziegler, who came 4th in
Gothenburg's Regional Championship, had the toughest draw, Christian Wall, the
winner of the tournament. Ziegler played really well. He has said he will train
harder now. He has picked up badminton and squash so quickly so with a bit of
training he could beat anyone. Not many people beat Ziegler in table-tennis, his
serves are scary.
Hans Mullamaa
Hans Mullamaa, the one who
started International Racketlon and nr 36 on the World
Ranking.
Photo: BMM
Mullammaa has been a bit unlucky with injures but now he seems to back in
good old shape. Mullamaa lost in first round but won first game in Plate. He
certainly showed how good his form is in the Mix getting 7 points from Karttunen
in badminton. Hans has the highest ranking of all Gothenburg Players on the World
Ranking, he is extremely good in badminton and squash. And his table-tennis has
improved rapidly, especially his serves. If Mullamaa works a bit on his tennis,
then he could reach the top. Mullamaa says himself being capable of being among
the Top 10 in the world, I think he can aim higher. Without Mullamaa I don't
think we would have any International Racketlon at all. He has done so much for
the sport that one can not thank him enough. Mullamaa has done an exceptional
job with this tournament and deserves credit for it.
Two Racketlon Mega-stars, Ulf
Bredberg and Hans Mullamaa
Ulf Bredberg
Bredberg put up an enormous fight against Henrik Håkansson just loosing by
3 points. "I should have played better table-tennis, said Bredberg after
the game". Bredberg is nr 1 among Veterans, maybe it is time for him to
climb the Elite Ranking as well. He can go to the Top there as well, if he has
the will, that's for sure. Read more about him under the Veteran's Class.
Bredberg helped out quite a lot during this tournament and did a great job with
the organisation
Ulf Bredberg, Gothenburg's
Champ and the gentleman, Henrik Håkansson
Photo: BMM
Robert Nilsson
He didn't turn up, it is a bit sad. We hope to see him at Gothenburg's
Regional Championship. His table-tennis team, Warta, plays in the Elite Division
now and that seems to be his main focus at the moment. Robert is really good at
tennis, and he could pick up squash and badminton easily because he is so fit
and motivated. We hope to see more of him in future Racketlon Tournaments.
Håkan Granberg
He didn't play but he will come back to Gothenburg's Regional Championship.
That will be interesting for sure. Granberg is a Top Racketlon player, and I
believe he is keen on showing that again pretty soon. Granberg,
the main organiser of this tournament, has done an exceptional job with
this tournament and deserves credit for it.
Patrik Andreasson
Is another Top Racketlon player that did not take part in the tournament.
Andreasson is a former elite player in badminton. Andreasson says it is easy to
become nr 1 in Gothenburg, "you just need to enter the competitions, he
says".We hope to see him in Gothenburg's Regional Championship. Andreasson
did a great job with the organisation of the tournament.
Wall won the whole tournament, but the Gothenburg Players proved that they are
on their way. They have the biggest troup and everyone has potential to reach
the top. It is just a matter of focus on training. Like great soccer player, Håkan Mild, says: "There
are no short-cuts " Meaning one needs to train hard to become good.
Men's Veteran Class +45
Photo:
BMM
Ulf Bredberg, Gothenburg Open
Benéus and Bredberg- what more needs to be written.
Winner 2006, beside, Hans
Mullamaa, a future Gothenburg Open winner?
Ulf Bredberg
Ulf Bredberg, what can one say about this man. He is just the best. In the
final Bredberg showed his class when he beat the racketlon guru Peter Bittár.
Bredberg is just too strong for all the Veterans right now, but he hasn't beaten
Pär Carleke yet. We hope Carleke dares to show up again so Bredberg can beat
him, maybe in the World-Championships in Holland 2007?
A determined Ulf
Bredberg. Who can stop him in Holland 2007?
Photo: BMM
Olle Benéus
Our other super veteran Benéus came 3rd. Olle has been very unlucky with
injuries but he keeps on playing at his peak anyway. This year he won the
Swedish Championships in squash for Veterans, amazing. Benéus has beaten
Karttunen twice and he trains hard with Staffan Kanen so one better watch out
for him in Gothenburg's Regional Championship. Only injuries can stop Benéus
from reaching the Veteran Top. As always Benéus did a great job with the
organisation of the tournament.
Lars Blomstergren
Blomstergren won the Veteran's Plate, and is climbing the squash ladder in
Landala. Blomstergren only lost by 7 points over Bittár. Blomstergren is
capable of beating anyone.
One of Gothenburg's squash
champs, Lars Blomstergren. Sitting on the right, Claes Hellgren, a true
fighter.
Photo: BMM
Björn Hagelqvist
Björn Hagelqvist and Niclas
Larsson in front of the computer
at one Top 16 Tournament. Hagelqvist has done an amazing job
with the top tournaments this year.It has been a pleaure working
with him, and I hope we can keep this cooperation up next year as well.
Foto: Krisztina Kemeny
Hagelqvist couldn't take part
this year because of an injury, but he is in great shape. He is now nr 8 on the
Gothenburg Ranking and he could climb it even higher if he improves his
badminton. Hagelqvist did a terrific job at Open and has done a great job with Top Tournaments lately and is a
great organizer.
Anders Persson
Persson played well and was satisfied with his results. What would the Open
be without Anders? Persson has done a legendary job driving all the players
everywhere. He is an amazing guy really.
My personal Hero, Anders Persson
Photo: BMM
Men's
Doubles
Jukka Salminen/Niclas
Larsson
Salminen and Larsson were really close in reaching the final. They only lost
by 4 points against Zwiers and Köpf. Next time we will beat them for sure. In
the third prize match against Greenhead and Carpenter, the English guys had 5
points.
The English guys, Greenhead and
Carpenter
Köpf, Zwiers, Wall (Håkansson missing) Larsson & Salminen
were unlucky, they had 5
matchpoints in the bronzematch.
Photo: BMM
Csaba Banhegyi/Istvan Nemeth
Gothenburg player Csaba Banhegyi played with his hungarian friend Nemeth,
they put up a very good fight against Zwiers and Köpf but unfortunately they
lost.
Fredrik Westlund/Tomas Qvistberg
They put a good fight in their first game but unfortunately they lost
Mix Doubles
Hans Mullamaa/Lilian Druve
This team took the bronze medallion. They played extremely good in the
bronze game getting 7 points in badminton from the International Superstars
Jansson & (Nilsson missing)
Kudicke & Schaub and Druve & Mullamaa
Photo: BMM
Men's Junior Class
Johan Hagelqvist
Hagelqvist proved that he is Gothenburg Racketlon's future. He came second
and he put up a very good fight in the final against strong player, Alexander
Ebata.
Johan Hagelqvist, Gothenburg's future hope and Alexander Ebata,
Västerås future.
Photo: BMM
Isak Johansson
He played well in the tournament and this young lad will definitely become a
star like his dad.
Hugo Hellman
He also played well in the tournament and he will go as far as his friend
Isak. It will interesting to see what these young guys will achieve in the
future.
Men's B-Class
The guy who never gives up,
wins his first B-Class Title
Jukka Salminen, the greatest
Racketlon-fighter in Gothenburg. Winner of Class B
Photo: BMM.
Foto: Krisztina Kemeny
Jukka Salminen
Salminen played at his peak in this tournament. It was a very tough starting
field. In the final against strong player from Hungary, Istvan Nemeth, Jukka looked like he was about to loose but he came back
strongly. One guy in the audience commented on the game; "Jukka is really a
worse player but he is winning anyway thanks to strong will and thanks to solid
play". In the future Salminen can beat anyone in Class A as well, because
he is a true fighter.
Nemeth, Salminen & Linse
Photo: BMM
Johan Linse
Linse came third in this class. Linse is very all-round in all sports and
will be tough for anyone in Class A.
Johan Linse, will be a threat to
anyone in Gothenburg's Regional Championsgip.
Photo: BMM
Fredrik Westlund
Westlund took the Plate Gold, well done!
Fredrik Westlund, a very strong
table-tennis player.
Photo: BMM
Mattias Björk
Björk jumped straight into the tournament and took the silver medallion in
the Plate. What a champ!
Pär Mattsson
Mattsson doesn't live in Gothenburg but is from Gothenburg, he came 4th in
this tournament. He will climb the ranking for sure. We hope he moves back to
Gothenburg where he belongs. Perhaps he could take part in a Local Tournament
soon.
Anders Brodin
Brodin wasn't very pleased with his tournament, he had fiever, and perhaps
he shouldn't have played. He will be a threat to anyone in the future.
Ulf Björk
Björk was very upset after his defeat in the first round. One could see in
his eyes that he will come back strongly next time.
Mattias Nilsson
A really good tennis player, he won his first game but unfortunately lost in
the second round. Nilsson practises quite a lot with Kanen which says a lot
about his capacity.
Men's
C-Class
Peter Sjöstrand played well
in the C-Class and took the bronze. Well done!
Per Hedlund
He played really, really, well in his first bigger Racketlon Tournament. He
came 4th. Well done!
Martin Sandén
He had a tough draw and lost in the second round. He is keen to play in A in
the next Top Tournament. It will be interesting to see what he can achieve there.
Martin Sandén in action.
Photo: BMM
Daniel Majetic
Daniel Majetic did well in the C-Class, he came second in the Plate. He will
now be in charge of Gothenburg Ranking List and it will be updated tomorrow with
the results from Open. We hope to see more of Majetic's reports on the homepage,
and we hope to see more of his fighter instinct on the courts.
Daniel Majetic Foto: Krisztina Kemeny Majetic lost by one point against Erik Löfbom in the
platefinal.
Photo: BMM
Men's
D-Class
Tomas
Karlsson came second, well done!
See all results from the tournament here.
Persson's badminton was amazing in
Gothenburg, Wall and the rest of the racketlon world better
watch out
next time.
Photo: BMM
Patrik Andreasson-one important
part of the Managment
Team,
Marcel Weigl-Racketlon's Future and the Heart of the Gothenburg Open-Håkan
Granberg.
Photo: BMM
Marcel Weigl has written
about Gothenburg Open on Austria's homepage, he has also added a lot of good
pictures, see www.racketlon.at
The results of the Open was publicised in "Göteborgs-Posten",
Gothenburg's biggest Newspaper, and an article about Lilian Druve was written on
Thursday the 9th of November.
Read a more international report about Gothenburg Open on www.racketlon.com. , http://www.racketlon.com/newgo06.rep.html written by Hans Mullamaa.
What would Racketlon be without this guy?
A fairly new Racketlon player, takes part in almost every tournament, Claes
Hellgren.
Mika Hasmats, a part of the racketlon-soul.
Will he become as good in racketlon as he was in handball? It wouldn't surprise
me.
Photo: BMM
Photo: BMM
/Niclas Larsson
