|
Badminton: China flexes muscle at world badminton championships
2006-09-23
MADRID - China's bid to win all five badminton gold medals at the Beijing Olympics gathered credibility as they won one world title, made certain of two others, and earned the prospect of a fourth on Sunday.The only title which the Chinese cannot win is the mixed doubles which has become an all-English affair, but that could change again if or when 2004 Olympic winners Zhang Jun and Gao Ling regain their best form. The women's doubles had been in the Chinese bag from Friday when Gao and Huang Sui were joined in the final by Zhang Yawen and Wei Yili, and was duly taken by the top-seeded former champions, Gao and Huang, with a 23-21, 21-9 win over their compatriots. But the surprise was that Bao Chunlai made sure China would win the men's singles title by upsetting the seedings for the second successive day. He brought down Lee Hyun-Il, the fifth seeded Korean, by 21-15, 21-19 in a tense and very unpredictable semi-final. Neither player was at his best in a battle of left-handers in cooler, slower conditions than previously, but Bao produced a less error-prone performance than Lee until he was a game and 19-15 up, at which stage he wobbled. Lee was given the chance to scrap his way back to 19-19, only to lift the shuttle long to go 19-20 down and then push the shuttle into the net under pressure on the match point. This eliminated the last non-Chinese player. "I felt a lot of pressure before the match, although I was confident because I had beaten Lee before," said Bao, a little contradictorily. "My coach told me to keep my balanced mood and do the best I can. "I made mistakes when I got to 19 when I tried to win too quickly. It was a little bit dramatic but also good. But if I lost that second game I might have been angry." Lee took the defeat in good spirit. "This was a very good chance for me, because I am in good condition. But so is the Chinese player. China is too strong." The other semi-final had already been guaranteed a Chinese winner, and produced a switch-backing 15-21, 21-19, 21-14 win for Lin Dan, the former world number one, over Chen Hong, the former All-England champion. Lin looked as if he were in a dream as he drifted to a deficit of one game and 16-18 down in the second. Then he suddenly sprung to life and played like a dream instead. When Lin increased his pace and launched into a series of spectacular attacks there was little Chen could do. A run of six points from 9-6 to 15-6 in the final game effectively ended the contest. Later world number one Zhang Ning came from behind in the first game to reach the women's singles final with a 21-18, 21-11 win over Petra Overzier, the surprise survivor from Germany who had upset two seeds despite having been ill. It set up a repeat of last year's women's singles final in Anaheim, California, against the titleholder, Xie Xingfang, who comfortably outplayed the other German semi-finalist, the China-raised Xu Huaiwen, 21-12, 21-10. There is also a strong chance of China winning the men's doubles, with the top-seeded Fu Haifeng and Cao Yun coming through to play England's seventh-seeded Anthony Clark and Robert Blair. Clark became one of the few players ever to reach two world finals in the same year, when he and Donna Kellogg reached the mixed final. This will see England win its first world title in 23 years because Clark's and Kellogg's opponents are their respective room mates, Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms, the Olympic silver medallists. - AFP /ls
China strike more gold at badminton worlds (2006-09-25)Badminton: Bao ensures China wins men's singles (2006-09-23)Badminton: China flexes muscle at world badminton championships (2006-09-23)China beat Germany 5-0 to reach Thomas Cup quarter-finals (2006-04-30)Badminton-Holder Lin slumps to All England defeat (2005-03-13)
| 
