CHINA SUPER LEAGUE – Qingdao final winner over Hunan

The second leg of the final of the China Badminton Super League ended with a  convincing win from Qingdao over Hunan, 3-1, giving the former the championship title.

By Lee Suet  Yan, Badzine Correspondent. Photos (live) : China Foto Press

There were no big changes for the lineup of both teams  compared to the first final except for Ma Jin / Luo Yu – rather than Luo Ying / Luo Yu – representing Qingdao in women’s doubles and Chai Biao / Tian Qing – rather than Zheng Bo / Tian Qing – representing Hunan in mixed doubles.

The first match of the day was women’s doubles. Even though Ma Jin / Luo Yu (photo) were fighting very hard for every point, they still lost to the more consistent pair of Tian Qing / Xia Huan from Hunan. The latter won the first game easily 21-12. In the second game, Ma Jin / Luo Yu took a 20-17 lead and then had three chances to win the second game but they failed to convert the opportunities and lost the second game 24-26.

The next match on court was women’s singles –  a rematch of the first leg between Wang Xin (Qingdao) and Chen Xiaojia (Hunan, pictured top). Wang Xin had beaten Chen Xiaojia a first time before in the round robin stage.

And then again in the final, with her beautiful skills and flair and deceptive shots, Wang Xin defeated Chen Xiaojia 21-15, 21-15. Wang Xin ends up as the second best women’s singles player in this league behind Jiang Yanjiao, who lost only once. Wang won 13 out of 17 matches she played in.

Bao still missing

The third match of the day was men’s doubles. Again, Fu Haifeng / Shen Ye (Qingdao) defeated Zheng Bo / Chai Biao (Hunan) in a very close match.  Fu Haifeng / Shen Ye dropped the first game 19-21 but dominated the second game and never gave Zheng Bo / Chai Biao a chance to lead after the interval in the second game. In the deciding game, Fu and Shen  played more aggressively, Fu Haifeng using his trademark powerful smash to win the rallies. At last, Fu Haifeng / Shen Ye (photo) won the deciding game 21-18 over Zheng Bo / Chai Biao to put Qingdao into a 2-1 in the lead with a final 19-21, 21-17, 21-18 victory. Fu Haifeng and Shen Ye will remain at the League’s best men’s doubles pair in this league as they won 18 out of 19 matches they had played.

The fourth match of the day was men’s singles. Bao Chunlai was not fielded as he was back in Beijing to prepare for the upcoming Yonex World Championship which will be held in Paris, France, from 23 – 29 August. Thus, Zhang Sheng replaced Bao Chunlai to represent Hunan and as usual, Qingdao’s men’s singles player was represented by Zhou Wenlong. With his aggressive play and confidence in the court, Zhou Wenlong managed to beat Zhang Sheng 21-18, 21-18.

As a result, Qingdao completed the 3-1 rout and became champions of the first Chinese Badminton Super League and earned the chance to celebrate on the podium (photo, live)

Shanghai will have to enter play downs

On the same day, Hubei and Shanghai were fighting for the 7th and 8th place, a crucial tie as the loser would then end up as the League’s last team, and therefore play in another match later to fight for their survival in the Elite league.

In the first women’s doubles match, Zhao Yunlei / Wang Xiaoli (Hubei) defeated Liu Yingchun / Hu Minyu (Shanghai) 21-12, 21-12. In the second women’s singles match, Wang Yihan was not sent to represent Shanghai as she was back in Beijing to prepare for the coming World Championship. Hence, Shanghai was represented by Chen Tingting whereas Hubei was represented by Li Wen. Li Wen defeated Chen Tingting by a scoreline of 21-16, 21-15.

In the third men’s doubles match, Chen Zhiben / Yu Hao (Shanghai) defeated Li Rui / Rao Yuqiang (Hubei) 9-21, 21-19, 21-17. Then the next match, Chen Long (Shanghai) defeated Chen Yuekun (Hubei) 21-14, 21-12. The last match of the day was mixed doubles. Li Rui / Yu Yang (Hubei) defeated Chen Zhiben / Xie Jing (Shanghai) 21-14, 21-16. As a result, Hubei defeated Shanghai 3-2 to secure the 7th place. Shanghai ends up as the weakest team during the league as they never won a tie. They lost 18 out of 18 matches they had played. According to league regulations, Shanghai will have to compete with the champion of the Badminton League One to decide whether they still can stay and play in next year’s Chinese Badminton Super League.

This settles a 3-month period where most of the top Chinese shuttlers left the international stage to focus on their own provincial team goals. They now have to get back under the same jersey to fight for China, with the Yonex World Championships just around the corner.

The draws for the Parisian event is being held on Monday, live from Kuala Lumpur at 2 PM.

Final Team ranking

1st – Qingdao – GOLD
2nd – Hunan – SILVER
3rd – Jiangsu, Chinese People’s Liberation Army – BRONZE

5th – Zhejiang
6th – Guangzhou
7th – Hubei

8th – Shanghai – to play for relegation