On the last day at Jakarta, world’s no.1 man and woman players, Chen Long and Carolina Marin proved their superiority in emphatic fashion and China’s mixed doubles team also retained their crowns won last year. Yet again, the Chinese women claimed the doubles crown to continue their tradition of excellence in this category. To add to the local glitz, Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan claimed the men’s doubles gold medal and gladdened the hearts of an overwhelming majority of Indonesian supporters. Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei finally met his match in the rock solid Chen Long. The Chinese simply refused to yield an inch and Lee’s aspirations of taking the World Championship gold remained unfulfilled.
It was a huge satisfaction for BWF managers that top seeds in three categories justified their seed-rankings and retained the titles won at Copenhagen last year. In the men’s singles final, China’s Chen Long didn’t allow Malaysian Lee Chong Wei any chance to move ahead. In the first game, Lee began by attacking the Chinese and hammered three big smashes. To the Malaysian’s surprise, all of them were sent back. That was when Lee would have become deflated, because under normal circumstances, his jump smashes find their marks. The other day, Lee had done the same against no.2 seed Jan O Jorgensen in the first game but that trick failed to work against the confident Chen. It was an easy win for the Chinese in the first game, in which he was too fast and precise. Lee tried to make a comeback in the second game but Chen denied him again. Each point that the Malaysian earned, took its toll on the Malaysian against the quicksilver reflexes of the world no.1. Lee’s usual success in net-play also didn’t work as Chen clinched his second consecutive World Championship title with a score of 21-14, 21-17.
In the women’s singles final, Carolina Marin expected a tough fight from Saina Nehwal after the Indian had knocked out former champion Wang Yihan in the quarterfinal and stopped the dream run of Indonesia’s Lindaweni Fanetri in the semis. But Saina failed to show any creative sparks and for most part, played only a second fiddle to Marin. The worst was the Indian’s loss of momentum after a 12-6 lead in the second game. On the other hand, Marin showed her fighting qualities and exploited Saina’s shakiness to win her second World Championship title. More on that encounter can be found by clicking the link below.
Sub-Par Saina Succumbs as Magnificient Marin Makes It Two-in-a-Row in World Badminton Championships
China successfully defended the mixed doubles title, when Zhang Nan/Zhao Yunlei defeated compatriots Liu Cheng/Bao Yixin in an all-China affair. The top seeds proved to be too good for the challengers in their 21-17, 21-11 win. Zhao Yunlei also won the women’s doubles with Tian Qing, when the pair got past Denmark’s Christinna Pedersen and Kamilla Rytter Juhl. The Danes made a blazing start and held five match points at 20-15. But the Chinese women refused to yield and scored the next six points before the Danes made another recovery to win at 25-23. In the second game, Zhao/Tian allowed only 8 points to Christinna/Kamilla and despite the Danes trying a comeback in the decider; Zhao/Tian stopped Christinna/Kamilla in their track to finish with a 23-25, 21-8, 21-15. China thus maintained their amazing women’s doubles supremacy in World Championship matches. Zhao Yunlei became the first woman player to win five World titles after she claimed two crowns this year.
The last men’s doubles match brought unlimited delight for local supporters. No.3 seeds Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan played a spirited match against the Chinese pair of Liu Xiaolong/Qiu Zihan and clinched the gold medal for Indonesia with a 21-17, 21-14 victory. Before the match started, China had already bagged three titles but they lost their chance to add another in their kitty. Ahsan and Setiawan, who have played marvelously all week, ensured that the Chinese were kept at bay. They had the entire stadium rooting for them and the victory made the moment too emotional.
