MALAYSIA OPEN 2015 Finals – Luo twins help China see triple

Luo Ying / Luo Yu named Malaysia the place they received their first Superseries title, while Lin Dan missed the opportunity to claim his first Malaysia Open title as he lost the crown to Chen Long in three games. With the defeat of defending champions Xu Chen / Ma Jin and Li Xuerui to their respective opponents, all titles at the Malaysia Open 2015 have found new owners.

By Ooi Ee Lyn, Badzine Correspondent live in Kuala Lumpur. Photos: Yves Lacroix for Badmintonphoto (live)

Luo Ying / Luo Yu (pictured) and Jang Ye Na / Jung Kyung Eun were getting to know their new opponents while trying the bag their first Superseries crown in women’s doubles.  Despite all being in the top ten, only Jung Kyung Eun had made the trip to the top of a Superseries podium before, which she did in India three years ago.

Ultimately, it was the Chinese twins who finally grabbed a hold of their opponents’ game. After winning a tight competition in the opening game, Luo/Luo picked up the pace and continuously threw winning shots at the Koreans, swiftly advancing towards the victory earning points in rally after rally. Luo / Luo finally hammered the match, calling themselves the new women’s doubles champions by winning it 21-18, 21-9.

Winning their first Superseries title, the Luo twins entered the post-match press conference – the biggest press conference they’ve been interviewed at – seeming more nervous than they were entering into the match itself. After silently exchanging brief words about how anxious they were at the conference, they both went on to comment on their first Superseries win.

“I think I feel extremely good and a little excited as this is our first Superseries title. I think it means quite a lot to us,” said Luo Yu.

“I think that to us, this is a recognition and a breakthrough, but we still have a lot to learn from the bigger players [from our country],” added Luo Ying, the older of the twins.

Still no Malaysia Open title for Lin Dan

The last time Lin Dan showed up in the Malaysia Open was in 2012, when he suffered an early exit, losing to Jan O Jorgensen in the second round of the tournament. This year, Lin Dan survived another killer match from the Dane in the semi-final, only to lose the title to Chen Long (pictured) in the final today. The two-time Olympic gold medallist who has completed a super Grand Slam ends his run in Malaysia, still yet to win his first Malaysia Open title.

“I think I did quite well in the first game and in the beginning of the second game, but towards the end of the second game and stepping into the third, I was slower and made more mistakes, so my opponent was able to build up a good lead,” commented Lin.

Albeit having lost the title, Lin Dan had received support from the local crowd throughout the match as if playing on home soil. With regards to that, he said, “I was surprised and of course, happy too. I hope that I’ll continue to do well when I come back to play here next year.”

On the other hand, Chen Long, who finally arrived at the press conference after keeping local media waiting, said, “The match was a tough one. Of course, I’ve done sufficient preparations beforehand too, so I’m satisfied with my performance.”

World Champion over Olympic Champion

The women’s singles final was a repeat of the World Championship final that happened last August. Olympic gold medallist and defending champion Li Xuerui might have hoped to earn her revenge, but Carolina Marin (pictured) lived up to her World Championship title and once again proved herself to be one of the best women’s singles players in the world. Marin took the match defeating Li Xuerui 19-21, 21-19, 21-17 in slightly over an hour.

“From the beginning of the match, I knew this was going to be a very tough match because Li Xuerui is an Olympic champion and a very good player,” said Marin.  “I knew it was going to be very difficult, but I am happy with my performance because I kept fighting until the end and I could beat her one more time. This makes me feel very happy.”

With this victory, Marin takes a step closer to becoming the world #1 lady in badminton, but to her, it is more important to take every match a step at a time: “For me, the ranking is secondary. I prefer to think about my every tournament, and when I’m in a tournament, I prefer to think match by match. When you win the matches, the points will be increasing. For me, now the most important thing is to do my best in every tournament.”

In the mixed doubles final, Zhang Nan / Zhao Yunlei (pictured bottom) reclaimed their world #1 spot with their 19^th victory in 21 meetings with defending champions Xu Chen / Ma Jin.

In the last match of the day, 2013 Malaysia Open champions Mohammad Ahsan / Hendra Setiawan (pictured) came back to take the men’s doubles title by preventing world #1 Lee Yong Dae and Yoo Yeon Seong from reaching the top.  After one-sided games going each way, the decider was tight throughout and the Koreans fought back to save four match points before failing to convert on their only opportunity and the match slipped from their grasp.

Final results
WD: Luo Ying / Luo Yu (CHN) [3] beat Jang Ye Na / Jung Kyung Eun (KOR) 21-18, 21-9
XD: Zhang Nan / Zhao Yunlei (CHN) [1] beat Xu Chen / Ma Jin (CHN) [3]  21-16, 21-14
MS: Chen Long (CHN) [1] beat Lin Dan (CHN) [5]  20-22, 21-13, 21-11
WS: Carolina Marin (ESP) [6] beat Li Xuerui (CHN) [1]  19-21, 21-19, 21-17
MD: Mohammad Ahsan / Hendra Setiawan (INA) [4] beat Lee Yong Dae / Yoo Yeon Seong (KOR) [1]  14-21, 21-15, 23-21

Click here for complete semi-final results