Being the first local male player to reach the finals of the Dutch Open in eight years, Eric Pang was just inches away from breaking another long-lasting spell – to be the first Dutch man since 1936 to win a Dutch Open title.  In a rematch of last year’s Dutch Open semi-final, Chetan Anand washed this hope down the drain as he forced Eric to bow down to him yet again. En route to the title, Chetan had also beaten another local hero, Dicky Palyama, in a one-sided semi-final match that ended 21-14, 21-6.

The Russians - and more particularly Valeria Sorokina - bagged the most gold medals in the tournament.  Sorokina and Nina Vislova, the top seeds, reigned over unseeded Germans Sandra Marinello / Brigit Overzier 21-13, 21-17 in the opening match of finals day at the Dutch Open 2009.  Valeria then proceeded to snatch her second gold medal of the day as she and her mixed doubles partner Alexandr Nikolaenko upset their top-seeded compatriots Vitalij Durkin / Nina Vislova in the longest match of the day. The battle finally ended 13-21, 21-16, 21-12 in favour of Sorokina/Nikolaenko after 56 minutes of play.

Germany also claimed their share of the gold in the tournament. The all-Germans final in the men’s doubles wound up with Kristof Hopp / Johannes Schoettler emerging as the champions after beating Michael Fuchs / Ingo Kindervater in a 21-15, 21-16 match.

Jia You, Yao Jie!

Nevertheless, the Netherlands did not end the tournament empty-handed as the women’s singles final was an all-Dutch affair.  Yao Jie (pictured) beat her higher-ranked compatriot Judith Meulendijks convincingly in straight games of 21-11, 21-12.  The Dutch veteran keeps her crown on home ground as she had beaten Linda Zechiri of Bulgaria last year.

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