Lin Dan lifts Asian badminton title; Chinese dominante

New Delhi, 18 April 2010: On a day completely dominated by the Chinese shuttlers, second seed Lin Dan stamped his name on the Gold medal of the Yonex Sunrise Badminton Asia Championships 2010. Lin Dan defeated team mate and junior Zhengming Wang in the finals today. In the women’s single event it was an all China affair as qualifier Xureui Li defeated team mate Xin Liu in a one hour long tightly fought match. The match ended in the favour of Xureui with a score of 21-13, 18-21 and 21-19 on boards. The week long tournament was being played at the state of the art Siri Fort Sports Complex in the National Capital.

Lin Dan

Chinese star and second seed Lin Dan, today earned his maiden Asian badminton title defeating team mate Zhengming Wang in an one sided match. The second seed Chinese took a little over 30 minutes to outclass his junior in the finals today. Lin closed the match with a score of 21-17 and 21-15 on boards to his favour.

My performances in the last two tournaments haven’t been that good hence this title boosts my confidence. It was a nice match and Wang is very young now and will learn as he grows,” said Lin Dan after his win.

Lin further added, “The facilities here have been very good. I would like to specially thank the crowd today as their cheering helped me a lot. In my last few visits to India I have realized that the crowd here is very warm and they like me.”

The women’s single event also had an all China finals today. Unseeded Xureui Li defeated team mate Xin Liu in a tight match played over 60 minutes. Xin after losing the first game 21-13 came back strongly to win the second game 18-21. In the tiring third game it was a neck to neck fight between the two. The game finally closed in Xureui’s favour as she won the game with a score of 21-19 on boards.

“It was a tough match today. We both haven’t played each other before and so we had no idea about each others style of play. It feels nice to win the title. I also need to work on my stamina and strength a lot once I get back home,” said the elated 19 year old Xureui Li after her win.

The women’s doubles event also had a similar result with China being crowned the new Asian women’s doubles champions. The Chinese pair of Pan Pan and Quing Tian defeated Malaysian shuttlers Vivian Kah Mun Hoo and Khe Wei Woon in an one sided match. The Chinese outclassed the Malaysian’s with a score of 21-10 and 21-6 on boards.

In the men’s doubles event top seed doubles pair of Hung Ling Chen and Yu Lang Lin from Chinese Taipei lost to fifth seed Korean shuttlers Gun Woo Choo and Yeon Seong Yoo in straight games of 21-19, 12-21 and 21-17 on boards. The mixed doubles event saw Malaysian pair of Peng Soon Chan and Liu Ying Goh win the gold medal. They defeated the Korean pair of Yeon Seong Yoo and Min Jung Kim in a tight match, with a score of 21-17, 20-22 and 21-19 on boards.