The inner resolve of Malaysian super-star Lee Chong Wei was not visible on his face in the first two games of the tension-ridden final that he played against Denmark’s Jan O Jorgensen. The Dane won the first and looked set to wrap up the match at 19-17 in the second. But the monk-like expression on Lee’s face did not betray his thoughts. The Malaysian stopped Jorgensen in his tracks to win the second game that forced the decider. Though Jorgensen led early in the third, Lee broke away decisively after 10-10 and didn’t allow the Dane any comebacks. In women’s singles final, Taiwanese Tai Tzu Ying was a runaway winner against Wang Yihan with a master class performance. In a rare culmination of her wizardry, Tai defeated every single player of the powerful Chinese trio of Li Xuerui, Wang Shixian and Wang Yihan as she progressed through the tournament. The men and women doubles titles were won by world’s best pairs in these categories while China won just the mixed doubles title, though they had finalists in every category, except the men’s singles.
Lee Chong Wei looks set for his Rio Olympic campaign. He has been on the winning course for the last couple of months, though he also encountered odds here and there. When he faced Denmark’s Jan O Jorgensen in the final of the BCA Indonesia Open title on Sunday, the Malaysian looked like playing a second fiddle to the Dane for the most part of the first two games. Jorgensen was coming to the match after his long and exhausting semifinal on Friday against China’s Tian Houwei. Regardless, the Dane reeled off point after point against Lee and looked in complete control in the first game. He led almost all the time before winning at 21-17. Lee played much better in the second, until Jorgensen made another push and led 13-11. The lead kept changing hands until the score came to 17-17. Then Jorgensen stood at the door of victory at 19-17. It was here that Lee showed his tenacity. First he delivered a powerful smash and then defended superbly to bring the score to 19-19. Lee won the next two points and it was time for the decider. However, it was not as if Lee had assumed control because Jorgensen put his heart into the third game and led in early stages. However, after the Malaysian brought the scores level at 10-10, it was his brilliance that suddenly caught Jorgensen napping. The crowd was witness to Lee’s familiar jump smashes, razor-sharp placements and an amazing alacrity in darting to the net for drop shots. Jorgensen knew his fate, though he found a few points in the third game. Finally, it was time for Lee’s sixth Indonesian Open title with a 17-21, 21-19, 21-17 victory over the Dane.
Tai Tzu Ying
In sharp contrast to the hard-fought men’s singles final, the women’s singles title game proved to be a literally one-sided affair. China’s Wang Yihan was the favorite to win but Taiwan’s Tai Tzu Ying tricked her with a wonderful range of unbelievable shots. It became a spectacle to watch Tai playing some loopy drop shots, fine placements and smashes into open court. The two players exchanged lead until 6-6 in the first game before Tai pulling away for good. The best Yihan could do was to come within one point at 12-11. But the Taiwanese was unstoppable as she took the game at 21-17. In the second game, they began with a one-point difference until 4-4 before Tai ran away to leave the Chinese stranded. Tai’s 21-17, 21-8 victory was realized in just 34 minutes.
The women’s doubles title was won by world no.1 Japanese pair of Misaki Matsutomo/Ayaka Takahashi. But it wasn’t a cakewalk for them against China’s Tang Yuanting/Yu Yang. Fortunes fluctuated wildly through the match. After the Japanese dominated the first game, they found themselves at the receiving end with the Chinese pair opening a 10-0 lead in the second game and finally winning it at 21-8. The decider was keenly contested with the Chinese pair leading until the score became 13-13. Yuanting/Yang were allowed only two more points by Matsutomo/Takahashi as the top seeds wrapped up the match at 21-15, 8-21, 21-15.
Korean world no.1 men’s team of Lee Yong Dae/Yoo Yeon Seong won the year’s first super-series title by beating China’s Chai Biao/Hong Wei. The Koreans dropped the first game but bounced back in the second to force a decider. They re-established control in the third game to win at 13-21, 21-13, 21-16.
In the mixed doubles, China got lucky to get something out of the tournament, when the pair of Xu Chen/Ma Jin retained their 2015 title by beating Korea’s Ko Sung Hyun/Kim Ha Na. The Chinese had an emphatic victory in the first game before Ko/Kim bounced back to take the second game. Chen/Jin benefitted from a number of errors by the Koreans in the decider as China completed a deserved 21-15, 16-21, 21-13 title victory.
