CHINA OPEN 2015 Finals – 3 for China, 1 each for Chong Wei and Kim/Kim

China had a good start in the final at home bagging the first three titles of the day. Lee Chong Wei then took Chen Long down to win his second Superseries title of the year, while Korea won their third consecutive China Open men’s doubles crown, but with a different pair this time.

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

The matches of the last day in Fuzhou heated up very quickly, with the first two matches taking over an hour each before the winners were declared.

In the women’s doubles final, Yu Yang defended her title with a different partner this year. First seeds Misaki Matsutomo / Ayaka Takahashi may have had the better start claiming the first game, but recently paired world #140 Yu Yang and Tang Yuanting (pictured left) were quick to come back, bagging the following games 21-13, 21-12 to end the final in their favour. This is Tang / Yu’s third title in exactly three outings, after the one in Germany two weeks ago and the India Open last year.

Mixed doubles defending champions Zhang Nan / Zhao Yunlei had a hard fight against Joachim Fischer Nielsen / Christinna Pedersen (pictured right), barely taking the first game 21-19 after coming back from behind the Danes. Zhang / Zhao slowed down in the next game, allowing the 5^th-seeded Danes to pocket it 21-17 in their favour. The deciding game was neck-and-neck up till the 19-all tie, but Zhang / Zhao finally dashed ahead to seal final game 21-19 and defended their title.

Saina Nehwal may have hoped to share the same luck as the defending champions who went on court before her. After losing the first game to Li Xuerui, Saina had a chance to turn things in her favour when she had a 6-point lead in the second game, but her opponent did not let it slip, as the Olympic gold medallist bagged seven consecutive points to take the lead and quickly wrapped up her victory. Defending champion Saina Nehwal was forced to give up the title after falling short to Li, losing in straight games of 12-21, 15-21.

Despite Chinese head coach Li Yongbo’s view that Lee Chong Wei (pictured left) is no longer the same player as he was, and that he will not be able to defeat Chen Long, the Malaysian proved him wrong. It did not take Lee Chong Wei long to break China’s string of victories at the China Open. He went into the match fully-charged and clinched the victory in straight games without even allowing Chen a single chance to take the lead in the games. The Malaysian may now look forward to earning his third and final Superseries title in Hong Kong before the year ends.

In the last match of the day, Chai Biao / Hong Wei (pictured bottom) – runners-up in China last year losing to Lee / Yoo – went up against Kim Ki Jung / Kim Sa Rang (pictured bottom) in hopes of grabbing the crown this time around. However, the Koreans were as eager to win as their opponents, as they quickly sealed the match 21-13, 21-19 in their favour to earn Korea’s third consecutive China Open men’s doubles title in place of their team-mates who were the winners of the tournament the last two years.

Final results
WD: Tang Yuanting / Yu Yang (CHN) beat Misaki Matsutomo / Ayaka Takahashi (JPN) [1] 18-21, 21-13, 21-12
XD: Zhang Nan / Zhao Yunlei (CHN) [1] beat Joachim Fischer Nielsen / Christinna Pedersen (DEN) [5] 21-19, 17-21, 21-19
WS: Li Xuerui (CHN) [6] beat Saina Nehwal (IND) [1] 21-12, 21-15
MS: Lee Chong Wei (MAS) beat Chen Long (CHN) [1] 21-15, 21-11
MD: Kim Ki Jung / Kim Sa Rang (KOR) beat Chai Biao / Hong Wei (CHN) [6] 21-13, 21-19

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