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Chinese shuttlers grab all but one golds at Thailand Open
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-07-09 09:00
Chinese badminton players grabbed all but one of the five golds from the Thailand Open at Bangkok's National Stadium on Sunday.
The finals started with the men's singles match between Chinese veteran Chen Hong and Thai ace Boonsak Ponsana.
Chen, ranked second in the world, beat Boonsak 21-14, 11-21, 23-21 in an intense battle before a crowd of disappointed Thai spectators.
The 27-year-old Chen, who retired from the national team early this year after having played over 10 years for his country, competed in Bangkok as an individual.
The winner of a series of high-level international games, including the 2001 Sudirman Cup and 2004 Thomas Cup, seemed to have maintained a good form and put on steady performance in the last few tournaments he had taken part in this year.
Chinese mixed doubles pair He Hanbin/Yu Yang later knocked out Sang Hoon Han/Yu Mi Hwang of South Korea 21-12, 21-14.
For the women's doubles, Gao Ling/Huang Sui won the title without playing after their teammates Du Jing/Yu Yang abstained as Yu, who also partnered with He Hanbin to win the mixed doubles gold, said she was not feeling well.
In the men's doubles final, South Korean pair Jae Jin Lee/Ji Man Hwang beat compatriots Jae Sung Jung/Yong Dae Lee 21-19, 19-21, 21-9 for the win. It was the he only title missing from the Chinese's pocket.
Zhu Lin beat China's former world number one Zhou Mi, now representing Hong Kong, China, to win the women's singles title 20-22, 21-5, 21-14.
Zhou, who retired from the Chinese national team in 2005, joined the Hong Kong team early this year.
The Thailand Open opened on Tuesday in Bangkok, offering a prize money of 120,000 U.S. dollars.
The Thailand Open provides a chance for players to accumulate their points in a new BWF ranking list to be released on May 1, 2008, which will determine the players' qualifications for the Beijing Olympics 2008.
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