Taiwan’s badminton players won two gold and three silver medals at the Yonex Open Chinese Taipei yesterday, with Chou Tien-chen claiming the men’s singles title, and Chen Hung-ling and Wang Chi-lin taking the doubles title.
In the all-Taiwanese men’s singles showdown, Chou survived an initial setback against compatriot Wang Tzu-wei for a three-set victory, defending the title he won last year.
Wang won the first set, but world No. 6 Chou fought back to win the match 18-21, 21-19, 21-15 in 1 hour, 17 minutes.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
“In the first set I got behind and had to make adjustments. I also said a prayer to encourage myself,” Chou said after the game. “Wang has really improved. He is getting stronger in his attack.”
“It is really good to see Wang making progress and I relish the competitive spirit between us. Only by having more competitors to push us to improve can Taiwan’s overall strength in badminton move up in world rankings,” he said.
In last year’s Grand Prix Gold Series of the Badminton World Federation (BWF), Chou defeated China’s Qiao Bin in two straight sets, 21-18, 21-17.
Chou said that he focusing on his training for next month’s BWF World Championships at Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, and is opting out of the Universiade.
In the men’s doubles duo Chen and Wang beat Lee Jhe-huei and Lee Yang 21-16, 22-20.
The opposition made some errors, especially late in the match when both sides were getting tired, which afforded us the victory, Chen said.
“I want to thank Chen for holding this match and battling on when my energy was aiding in the last set. Winning this title is a dream come true for me,” Wang said.
Wang also paired with Lee Chia-hsin in the mixed doubles final.
South Korean duo Seo Seung-jae and Kim Ha-na prevailed with a 22-20, 21-10 two-set triumph for the gold.
Japan’s Saena Kawakami seized the women’s singles final with 21-17, 21-17 over Goh Jin-wei from Malaysia.
South Korean women’s doubles team duo Chae Yoo-jung and Kim So-yeong took home the gold with a 21-12, 21-11 victory over compatriots Kim Hye-rin and Yoo Hae-won.
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