Sudirman Cup: Another demonstration of Chinese might

There was something scary about the way China won its ninth Sudirman Cup title on Sunday.

It wasn’t just that they beat Korea – it was that they won three straight matches against the second-best team in the world without losing a single game. To be sure, in the last five Sudirman Cup finals, China have won without losing a match. This was, for the record, China’s ninth success in the last ten editions of the Sudirman Cup – they have won all but one title since 1995.

No other team in any other sport (barring perhaps China again, in a sport such as table tennis) has dominated in such ruthless fashion.

After the quarterfinal win over Indonesia, Li Yongbo, China’s head coach, was reported to have said he wouldn’t mind a non-Chinese victory. “China have won the Sudirman Cup too many times… I would not mind if other team win. In fact, I challenge the others to beat us. Sometimes, it is good for others to win. It is not good for China to win it all the time.” As it turned out, it got much easier for him, with China losing one match against Denmark in the semifinals and none in the final.

Before the finals started on Sunday, one hoped the final would go to the fifth rubber. After all, Korea boast of some of the best doubles pairs in the world. On paper, it looked like Korea had an even chance in the men’s doubles and mixed doubles. With China sure of winning the men’s singles and women’s doubles, Korea would have hoped to start strongly in the first match (the mixed), and the third (men’s doubles). With Korea Open winner Sung Ji Hyun playing the women’s doubles, the Koreans would have hoped for some sort of miracle against Olympic champion Li Xuerui, so that they wouldn’t have had to depend on the final rubber, the women’s doubles.

But the Korean fantasy was demolished so quickly, they must have returned from Kuala Lumpur shell-shocked. The win was set up in the very first match by Xu Chen and Ma Jin, who trashed Ko Sung Hyun and Kim Ha Na – the Asian champions, no less! The Chinese came out blazing, firing with such intensity that the Koreans seemed taken aback. With Xu Chen firing powerful smashes from the back, and Ma Jin cutting off everything at the net, Korea had to maintain a high level – but they could not. Kim Ha Na crumbled under the pressure – making so many errors that the Chinese jogged to victory in the end. A 286-kmph smash from Xu Chen for match point told the story – the smash was so hard that Ko Sung Hyun could not even get his racket to it.

The win seemed to set the stage for the two matches that followed. Chen Long was expected to beat youngster Lee Dong Keun and he did so with ease. Lee impressed in patches with some skilful strokeplay, but Chen Long’s explosive pace helped him win points at will.

With a 0-2 deficit, Korea would have hoped to draw a consolation win in the men’s doubles, in which they have the world No.2 pair Lee Yong Dae and Ko Sung Hyun. The Chinese did not field their Olympic champions Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng, who have had a relatively poor week – losing both their matches in the run-up to the final. Instead, China opted for the hot young pair of Liu Xiaolong and Qiu Zihan, who had beaten the Koreans in the India Open final. In other words, the Chinese preferred youth over experience. It was a gamble, but how well it worked for them!

Qiu and Liu pulverized Lee and Ko – another straight sets victory, leading from start to finish. It was a near-shocking result, for Lee and Ko are no mean pair themselves. One wonders if the stunning reversal of the first match had played on Ko Sung Hyun’s mind.

The entire final had taken just over two hours. China had won 19 matches to just three losses in the whole tournament, stamping their absolute dominance over the world yet again. The world needs to find some answers, and fast. One doesn’t grudge the Chinese their success, but a world team final needs to be more competitive than what one witnessed on Sunday.