Two-time Olympic gold medalist Wang Chi-lin and his new doubles partner Chiu Hsiang-chieh on Sunday clinched the men’s doubles title at the Hylo Open in Germany, their biggest success of the year.
Wang and Chiu, ranked 21st in the world, upset the world No. 11 pairing Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani of Indonesia 21-19, 21-18 to secure their first championship in a Super 500 tournament or above this year.
Earlier in the season, the Taiwanese pair won the Super 300-level Taipei Open, but in other competitions they made it no further than the round-of-16. In the first two months after teaming up last year, they finished third in two Super 500 tournaments.
Photo courtesy of Badmintonphoto
After the match, Wang praised Chiu, his partner since late August last year.
“It must be tough for him to adjust to the intensity at this level, but I can see that he keeps improving and breaking away from the playing style he was used to,” Wang said.
Wang’s former partner Lee Yang, with whom he won back-to-back Olympic gold medals in Tokyo and Paris, semi-retired after the Paris Games and formally hung up his racket following last year’s World Tour Finals.
Wang said the Hylo Open title was “just the beginning,” even as he noted that many top players from Japan, South Korea and China did not compete in Germany.
Following his win, Wang said that he would return to Taiwan for a medical checkup, as he was experiencing some tightness and pain in his right shoulder during matches.
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