Candra\/Tony take men's GP doubles title<\/p>\n
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Agencies): Candra Wijaya and Tony Gunawan
\nsaved face for Indonesia by taking home the men's doubles title
\nat the Grand Prix Finals on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Peter Gade-Christensen of Denmark claimed the best men's
\nsingles title and Ye Zhaoying of China was declared the best
\nfemale shuttler.<\/p>\n
Overall, China took home two titles followed by Indonesia,
\nSouth Korea and Denmark with one title each.<\/p>\n
Indonesians Tony and Candra upset top seeds Ha Tae-kwon and
\nKim Dong-moon of South Korea 15-7, 8-15, 15-11 to claim their
\nfirst title in the annual event. They also managed to retain
\nIndonesia's domination in the men's doubles since 1996.<\/p>\n
"I was not desperate at all when we were downed 2-9 and 4-10
\nin the second game. I kept telling myself that this is the
\nperfect time to win. I'm really grateful and I thank God, my
\ngirlfriend and my coach for giving me the motivation to win,"
\nsaid Candra, who won the 1997 title with former partner Sigit
\nBudiarto.<\/p>\n
"Since the beginning we have set our target to win the title
\nhere," he said.<\/p>\n
In the men's singles, Gade Christensen rallied from 0-7 down
\nin the first set to destroy the moral of Marlev, who was a spent
\nforce in a one-sided second set.<\/p>\n
Gade-Christensen, 23, won in straight sets 15-11, 15-3.<\/p>\n
"For me, this is as big as the Olympics, as well as the world
\nchampionships," said the second-ranked Gade-Christensen, who has
\nwon neither, reported AFP. "For me it is as tough because you
\nhave the 16 best players here."<\/p>\n
The International Badminton Federation (IBF) said on Saturday
\nGade-Christensen will supplant Sun at the top when the next world
\nrankings are published this week.<\/p>\n
A Gade-Christensen smash leveled the first set at 11-11 and
\nthe Indonesian world number eight had to wait for the second set
\nto win his next points.<\/p>\n
After they swapped places on the court for the second set,
\nMarlev said he came up against the wind and was distracted by two
\nbroken rackets.<\/p>\n
"Peter played very well today," said 27-year-old Marlev.
\n"When I jumped ahead he put pressure on me and I couldn't keep
\nup."<\/p>\n
"He was risking a lot, trying to catch up, and made mistakes,"
\nGade-Christensen said.<\/p>\n
In the women's singles, Asian champion Ye Zhaoying extended
\nher mastery over Chinese compatriot and world number one Dai Yun
\nin three sets, 11-4, 6-11, 11-9 to capture her third badminton
\nworld grand prix finals title, but her first since 1997.<\/p>\n
Ye, 25, is now an enviable 8-1 against Dai in events where
\nworld ranking points are at stake.<\/p>\n
South Korean world champions Kim Dong-moon and Ra Kyung-min
\nbeat Indonesia's Tri Kusharyanto and Minarti Timur in the mixed
\ndoubles for their second straight GP finals title.<\/p>\n
The Korean second seeds won it in straight sets, 15-7, 15-7
\nagainst the pair who had eliminated Chinese world number one duo
\nLiu Yong and Ge Fei.<\/p>\n
Indonesian coach Richard Mainaky said: "Minarti and Tri failed
\nto play short balls before the net while the South Koreans'
\nstrokes were really fast and powerful. Our players couldn't
\nreturn their smashes in only two or three rallies."<\/p>\n
Ge had better luck in the women's doubles, as part of China's
\ntop-ranked women's doubles partnership with Gu Jun.<\/p>\n
The Chinese duo, the reigning world and Olympic champions,
\nswept to their sixth straight world GP finals title, beating
\nSouth Korean second seeds Chung Jae-hee and Ra Kyung-min in
\nstraight sets, 15-2, 15-4.<\/p>",
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