Tai Tzu-ying breezed past her South Korean opponent on Sunday to become the first Taiwanese to win a BWF World Superseries Finals event.
Tai, who is ranked ninth in the world, beat world No. 5 Sung Ji-hyun 21-17, 21-12 in two straight games to win the women’s singles final in Dubai and walk away with US$80,000 in prize money.
Tai said the easy win came as a complete surprise, as she had thought before the match that she had just a 50 percent chance of coming out on top.
Photo: AFP
“I didn’t expect it to be this easy. Maybe Sung was not at her best and she made many mistakes,” said the 20-year-old, who only found her form late in the season.
“I fell sick twice this year; that’s why I could not compete at a high level. Having won the Hong Kong Open and this event, I expect that my opponents will study me closely, but that’s something I cannot avoid. I will have to adjust accordingly,” Tai added.
“Tai is now as good as the top Chinese players,” the 23-year-old Sung said after her loss. “She is very aggressive and powerful; I found it hard to return her smashes today.”
Tai’s coach, Lee Wei-jen, said the Taiwanese won because of her overpowering dominance from the start.
Until Sunday’s game, Tsai and Sung had each won four of their eight previous encounters. Six of those matches went to three games.
In the first game, Tai quickly surged to a 11-3 lead and Sung’s counterattack fell short. In the next game, the closest Sung got to a comeback was an early tie at 3-3.
After that, Tai never looked back and won the secibd game by a bigger margin than the first.
The five-day year-end tournament began on Wednesday last week in Dubai and featured the eight players who had the best overall performances in the BWF Superseries over the past year.
Chinese world champion Chen Long finished the year on a high after winning the men’s singles final on Sunday, brushing past Hans-Kristian Vittinghus of Denmark 21-16, 21-10 in just 47 minutes.
It was Chen’s fourth major title of the season and he secured it in some style, with Vittinghus failing to win another point after tying 10-10 in the second game.
“I’m happy with my game. This is the first time Dubai is hosting such a big event and I’m very happy with the way it was organized,” Chen said. “I believe that with so many Chinese and Indian people living here, badminton has a great future in Dubai and I’m looking forward to coming back.”
In the women’s doubles, Japanese duo Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi handed China their first defeat in a major final in the category for more than a year by beating world champions Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei 21-17, 21-14.
“This result was far from what we expected,” Tian said. “We need to study this game and find what went wrong. Our rivals were very good today; we just didn’t employ the right tactics. We didn’t make many mistakes, but we weren’t patient enough.”
Takahashi said their main goal this year had been the world championships, but they were happy to win the year-ending finale.
“We didn’t have a specific strategy. The Chinese are hard to beat because they usually maintain the attack. We never expected to win in straight games,” she said.
South Korea’s Lee Yong-dae and Yoo Yeon-seong claimed the men’s doubles by beating China’s Chai Biao and Hong Wei 19-21, 21-19, 21-16, while world and Olympic champions Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei took just 41 minutes to beat Chinese compatriots Liu Cheng and Bao Yixin 21-15, 21-12 in the mixed doubles.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely