Reuters/Copenhagen
China’s Chen Long edged out top seed Lee Chong Wei in a thrilling match to win the men’s final at the World Badminton Championships yesterday, handing the Malaysian world number one his third successive defeat in a world championship decider.
World number two Chen, who had said before the final that Lee was not unbeatable, won 21-19 21-19 to secure his first medal at the world championships.
Having also lost two Olympic finals, Lee’s defeat meant that his wait for a first major title goes on. The first set was a cagey affair with Chen edging it 21-19 and he sprang out to an early lead in the second. Lee fought back but Chen was not to be denied.
There was also an upset in the women’s final as ninth seed Carolina Marin came back from a set down to defeat world number one Xuerui Li. The 21-year-old ninth seed recovered from dropping the opening game to the top seed and Olympic champion to complete an incredible 17-21, 21-17, 21-18 victory and earn her country its first ever major title in the sport.
“I don’t have any words...it was a fantastic match,” said Marin. “She played amazing rallies in the first set and her strokes are so good. “My coach told me if I wanted to win I had to fight until the end. I fought to the end, that’s what I did. I feel so excited.”
Asked whether she felt nerves with victory in sight, Marin replied: “Not so much. I wanted to enjoy it in my first final and I did that.” Li had rarely looked in trouble during her run to the final and she again looked at ease with her terrific stroke play proving too much for the tenacious Marin in the opening game. However, the Spaniard, reigning European champion, was undeterred and came out positively at the start of the second set as she established an early lead before Li reeled her back in.
This time though Marin responded by taking the attack to her opponent for whom the nerves perhaps began to take hold as Li began to misfire more regularly.
From 15-all Marin upped her standards and carved out three set points at 20-17 before levelling the contest as Li hit wide.
The Chinese regrouped in the third game and inched 14-11 ahead but once more Marin refused to cave in as the world number 10 fought her way back to 15-all after edging an incredible rally. Play paused for Li to seek treatment on her right ankle with Marin 16-15 ahead and the Spaniard crept further in front once the contest resumed.
A foul serve cost Marin a point before Li’s resilient defence enabled her to pull things back to 17-all. A delicate touch shot then handed Marin lead once more before she intercepted a cross-court pass to move to within two points of an improbable victory.
Li then drilled long to make it 20-18 in favour of Marin who then fell to the court in delight on the subsequent point as Li planted her shot into the net with the Spaniard becoming the first European women’s world singles champion since Denmark’s Camilla Martin in 1999. For Li it was yet another agonising defeat after she fell at the final hurdle a year ago on home soil in Guangzhou to Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon.
Earlier, China extended their dominance in women’s doubles as Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei claimed won the country’s 12th straight gold medal in the event.
Fifth seeds Tian and Zhao added a world title to their Olympic crown by defeating compatriots Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli 21-19, 21-15 in the final.
Meanwhile South Korea struck gold in the men’s doubles as Ko Sung-hyun and Shin Baek-choel, the 12th seeds in Denmark, beat fellow countrymen Lee Yong-dae and Yoo Yeon-seong 22-20, 21-23, 21-18 in a pulsating 79-minute encounter to record their first major title together.
Chen Long of China celebrates at the podium after winning the mens single final against Lee Chong Wei from Malaysia at the 2014 BWF World Badminton ch
