KOREA OPEN 2016 Finals – Payback for world #1 pair

Ko Sung Hyun and Kim Ha Na made the 2016 Korea Open their first title as world #1.

By Don Hearn, Badzine Correspondent live in Seongnam.  Photos: Yves Lacroix for Badmintonphoto (live)

Last weekend, Korea’s Ko Sung Hyun and Kim Ha Na took their newly-minted world #1 status into the final of the Japan Open but were dominated by Chinese teenagers Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen.  This week, in front of a home crowd in Seongnam, they erased that memory with a strong start that they converted into a straight-game victory.

After maintaining a comfortable lead in the opener, the Koreans had to keep their nerves through a much tighter second game.  Ko thrilled the crowd with some spectacular diving retrievals but in most cases could not salvage the points, their scoring coming instead on textbook execution in the other rallies.

Zheng Siwei became visibly frustrated with himself on several occasions as the Chinese youngsters repeatedly got the lead but then let it slip away.  The Koreans kept their cool and won on their second match point opportunity as Kim Ha Na’s shot hit the net and trickled over for the win.

“I was really concentrating on playing with more confidence today and not getting nervous and I think it worked,” said a very emotional Kim Ha Na in the mixed zone after the match, “but as we started off playing well, I think our opponents started to have troubles with nerves and we were able to take advantage of their mistakes as well.”

“It is really great to win this tournament in Korea, in front of a home crowd, and especially to be able to beat the team we lost to in the final last week,” said Ko Sung Hyun.  “It is also good to pick up a title as the world #1.”

Ko Sung Hyun won the Korea Open men’s doubles title in 2013 but for Kim Ha Na, this is her first home Superseries title and for both players, it is the first as the world #1 mixed doubles pair.

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