Taiwanese shuttlers Lai Po-yu (賴柏佑) and Tsai Fu-cheng (蔡富丞) on Sunday clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex US Open, defeating compatriots He Zhi-wei (何志偉) and Huang Jui-hsuan (黃睿璿) in a three-game thriller, 21-13, 21-23, 21-15.
He and Huang, ranked 63rd in the world, took an early 6-3 lead in the first game against world No. 86 Lai and Tsai.
However, Lai and Tsai quickly shifted momentum, reeling off eight straight points to surge ahead 11-6.
Photo: CNA
Although He and Huang fought back to close the gap to 14-11, Lai and Tsai responded with another five-point run to take the opening game convincingly.
In the second game, He and Huang gave it their all to build an 18-13 lead. Although Lai and Tsai fought back to tie the score late in the game, He and Huang managed to edge a 23-21 victory to even the match.
However, He and Huang were unable to maintain their momentum in the decisive third game.
Lai and Tsai quickly pulled ahead, opening a seven-point lead at 17-10 before closing out the match.
Besides Lai and Tsai’s gold and He and Huang’s silver, the bronze medal was shared by four Taiwanese shuttlers who were defeated by the top two teams in the semi-finals.
Chiang Chien-wei (江建葦) and Wu Hsuan-yi (吳軒毅), along with Chen Cheng-kuan (陳政寬) and Lin Bing-wei (林秉緯), all secured third place.
In addition to that milestone, Lai and Tsai’s victory marked Taiwan’s first gold at a US Super 300 event in 15 years — the last being Fang Chieh-min (方介民) and Lee Sheng-mu (李勝木) in 2010.
Their win was no surprise, thanks to a long-standing partnership that began in junior high school, fostering strong camaraderie.
In the women’s doubles, Taiwanese shuttlers Chang Ching-hui (張淨惠) and Yang Ching-tun (楊景惇), as well as Hsu Yin-hui (許尹鏸) and Lin Jhih-yun (林芝昀), collectively settled for third place, while Hsu Ya-ching (許雅晴) and Sung Yu-hsuan (宋祐媗) took second behind Thai sisters Benyapa Aimsaard and Nuntakarn Aimsaard.
Hsu Yin-hui and her mixed doubles partner Chen Cheng-kuan, both of Taiwan, also tied for third alongside US shuttlers Presley Smith and Jennie Gai.
In the men’s singles, Chou Tien- chen (周天成) and fellow Taiwanese Liao Jhuo-fu (廖倬甫) both secured third place.
The Yonex US Open, held at Iowa’s Mid-America Center, had a total prize purse of US$240,000.
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