Xia and Gong clinch Chinese double
Xia and Gong clinch Chinese double
BIRMINGHAM, England (Reuters): China' Xia Xuanze completed his march to the All England badminton championship on Sunday with a stunning 15-6, 15-13 success over 18-year-old Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia.
The women's crown also went to China when Gong Zhichao ended a 26-month title drought with an 11-5 8-11 11-5 victory over compatriot and world championship finalist Dai Yun.
Gong made it into the finals after beating Mia Audina of the Netherlands 11-6, 11-4 in the semifinals on Saturday.
Dai also entered the finals after ousting the world champion Camilia Martin of Denmark in straight sets 11-6, 11-8 in the semifinals on Saturday.
Fourth seed Taufik, runner-up for the second year running, started favorite in the men's final against Xia, who came to the tournament largely unheralded despite a world ranking of 12 after victories in last year's Dutch and German Opens.
But 11th seed Xia took control from the start, leading 11-0 in the first and 10-4 in the second. A late rally by Taufik to level at 13-13 raised Indonesian hopes briefly.
It was Xia's fourth victory over a seed at these championships, but the highly-talented Hidayat represented the biggest scalp of all despite the Indonesian's age.
"I was quite confident," the Chinese said. "And I knew I would fight.
"The top players had a systematic program at a training camp before the Thomas Cup preliminaries earlier this year and it has paid off."
Xia's better known compatriot, world champion Sun Jun, missed the tournament because of injury and is now under some pressure to preserve his world ranking of eight before the April 30 deadline when China announce their men's singles trio for the Sydney Olympics.
Xia said: "I'll play in as many tournaments as I can before then and then it will depend on where I am in the rankings, but Sun Jun is a better player than me."
Taufik entered the finals after beating former compatriot Fung Permadi of Taiwan in the semifinals 17-15, 15-12 on Saturday. Permadi is the world silver medalist.
Xia also entered the finals after beating his teammate Ji Xingpeng 15-9, 17-15 in the semifinals on Saturday.
The smart money was on Dai in the women's singles after her efficient semifinal defeat of world champion Camilla Martin of Denmark. But it was clear early on that the second seed had left some of her form of Saturday in the locker-room.
Although she battled well to win the second game and level at 1-1 she looked tired and occasionally ill at ease. Fourth seed Gong seized the moment and the title -- plus the car handed to the singles champions.
Both vehicles may not reach China though because of swinging import duties. Xia looks set to sell his. "I can't drive," he admitted.
The three doubles titles were also headed for Asia -- for the first time in the tournament's 100-year history, no European reached a final.
South Korea took the mixed doubles when Kim Dong-moon and Ra Kyung-min defeated the Chinese pair of Liu Yong/Ge Fei 15-10, 15- 2.
In the semifinals on Saturday the South Korean pair, the top seeded in the tournament, were no match for Chris Bruil and Erica van den Heuvel of the Netherlands 15-7, 15-5.
Results
Men's singles: Xia Xuanze (Chn) bt Taufik Hidayat (Ina) 15-6, 15-13
Women's singles: Gong Zhichao (Chn) bt Dai Yun (Chn) 11-5 8-11 11-5
Mixed doubles: Kim Dong-moon/Ra Kyung-min (Kor) bt Liu Yong/Ge Fei (Chn) 15-10, 15-2