WORLDS 2011 Finals – China: 4 firsts, 3 fourths, 3rd sweep

China did it again, re-affirming their dominant presence in the world of badminton at the 2011 Yonex BWF World Badminton Championships, with 4 players winning their 1st WC title, Lin, Cai, and Fu each winning their 4th, and China sweeping the gold for the 3rd time.

By Emzi Regala, Badzine Correspondent. Photos: Badmintonphoto (live)

Cai Yun got emotional, hugging his partner Fu Haifeng (pictured) after a very successful campaign in the 2011 World Championships.  The duo added 1 more to China’s stash of gold medals in this year’s World Championships, winning against Korea’s Ko Sung Hyun / Yoo Yeon Seong in 2 straight games.  The tightly contested first game slipped out of the less-experienced hands of the Koreans, who failed to control their nerves, and wasted 3 game point opportunities before finally bowing out to China 22-24.

The dominant Chinese pair looked ready to make the second a complete blowout but the Koreans managed to take back enough attacking chances to make up some ground but ultimately could do no more than keep things respectable.  Cai and Fu played solidly, ending the second 21-16 and thus successfully defending their crown, earning their 4^th championship crown and China’s 4^th gold of the evening.

“This is our fourth time being the World Champions and this feels really good. We did win a lot of tournaments but we couldn’t take it for granted, really. This pair is not as strong as Lee and Jung and they made some mistakes in the second game, which helped us to win this medal,” said Fu Haifeng.

Mixed doubles 1^st seeds Zhang Nan / Zhao Yunlei (pictured below) of China clinched the 5^th and final gold for China by beating Great Britain’s new heroes Chris Adcock / Imogen Bankier in straight games 21-15, 21-7.  In spite of the Wembley crowd support and the fact that they stayed even until 15-15 in the first game, the Brits couldn’t unlock the right tactics against the flawless Chinese pair.

“Their tactic was right on the spot and they started to play at a higher level then,” said Imogen Bankier.

“But we take a lot from this week. We’ve played our best badminton ever and we’ll take that boost of confidence towards our Olympic qualification,” added Adcock, pictured here with his partner Bankier while waiting in the London Bus which had been the way players entered the Arena.

“We are very satisfied to have been able to get the 5^th medal for China today. It’s overwhelming to have won our first gold medal here, even if we aren’t thinking too much of the Olympics yet. We’ll go home and rest before taking on the tour again,” said Zhang Nan.

Zhao Yunlei goes home with a medal tally of 1 gold for mixed and 1 silver with partner Tian Qing for the earlier women’s doubles final against the eventual winners, fellow Chinese Wang Xiaoli / Yu Yang.  Zhao and Wang Zhao had also been runners-up in women’s doubles at, respectively, the 2009 and 2010 editions of the Worlds with different partners and joined Zhang Nan and women’s singles champion Wang Yihan in capturing their first world title.

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