Fung Permadi, Zhou Mi wins Korea Open badminton finals
Fung Permadi, Zhou Mi wins Korea Open badminton finals
SEOUL (Agencies): Taiwanese Fung Permadi and Zhou Mi of China
took the singles titles in the Korea Open badminton championships
on Sunday.
Fung, a former Indonesian, handed fellow veteran Thomas Stuer-
Lauridsen his first big defeat in more than a year by beating the
Dane 17-14, 15-6 for the men's title.
Fung kept his composure well in an exciting first set where
both players seemed to stretch their limits, then set the pace to
force a frustrated Lauridsen into repeated mistakes at the net in
the second.
"It was a bit tough at the start. He's very tall... I just
tried to push him to make mistakes," Fung said after the victory
which earned him US$20,000.
"I feel good about it. I've worked hard and it's led to
successful things," he said.
"I was tired in the second game... but he played well and
deserved to win," said Lauridsen, who edged out Indonesian young
hopeful Johan Hadikusuma in the semifinals.
The Dane said that the ankle on which he had surgery last year
did not affect his game.
Both Fung and Lauridsen said they looked forward to a possible
rematch in the Taiwan Open Championships starting on Tuesday.
Zhou Mi fought what she said was a familiar battle with
compatriot and sparring partner Gong Ruina to win the women's
final 11-6, 13-12 for a $17,250 jackpot.
Gong, slightly smaller, inched her way back into it in the
second game with her agility and swift footwork but was unable to
quell Zhou's powerful strokes.
"It was very difficult for me since we play together in China
all the time," said Zhou.
Asked what she would do with her new-found wealth, the
19-year-old replied: "I'll hand it to my mother."
Indonesia, resting most of its top players in the opening
event of the world badminton circuit, managed to win a title
after its second-string men's doubles team of Flandy Limpele and
Eng Hian beat Jesper Larsen and Jens Eriksen of Denmark 6-15, 15-
7, 15-9.
It was the first title for Flandy and Eng, top seeds here,
since partnering last year.