China defended their Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships title at the Dubai Exhibition Centre when they beat South Korea in the final on Sunday. Although it was on expected lines, the Chinese dominance was still noteworthy considering that they were experimenting with a young and inexperienced side.
“It is not appropriate for me to talk about the strengths and weakness of one team in particular, but China being the powerhouse they are, their ‘B’ or ‘C’ teams also have such talent that they can compete with the world’s best,” said Moosa Nashed, secretary-general of Badminton Asia, the continental governing body.
The Mixed Team Championships gets ranking points not just for the countries, but also the individual players. “So it’s not just China, but countries such as Syria, Lebanon or the UAE – who did well as we saw in the group stages – also benefit when more and more players get such opportunities,” Nashed said.
He added that the Mixed Team Championships and the Individual Badminton Asia Championship, which will follow here in the UAE in April, are part of Badminton Asia’s intent to develop West Asia after decades of popularity for the game in the Far East. “The infrastructure and facilities in the UAE are among the best. We have been encouraged by what we have seen here and as you would know, we are committed to this region for the next five years. Next year is Paris 2024 and we are using such initiatives to promote West Asia as part of our Asia Olympic Project.”
Challenge that never was
Yet, the Olympic powerhouses China steamrolled past the Koreans, despite the pair of Kim Won-ho and Na Sung Seung getting the better of He Ji Ting and Zhou Hao Dong 21-19, 16-21, 21-17 in the third match of the final contest. Won-ho and Seung usually have different playing partners. The game alone lasted one hour and 15 minutes.
The Chinese response by the women’s doubles in the next was swift. Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning were ruthless and beat Jeong Na Eun and Lee So Hee 21-11, 21-10.
China started in the front when Lei Lan Xi beat Lee Yun Gyu 21-16, 21-15 to win the men’s singles. In the following women’s singles, Gao Fang Jie easily got past Kim Ga-eun 21-15, 21-15.
“Olympic gold is my ultimate dream, but I am focusing on present day and every tournament which will create the pathway for the Olympics. We should have dreams, but we should focus on present day,” remarked Gao after saying that she was mentally and physically prepared to tackle Sindhu on the day.
“I don’t think too much on tactics and defence. I focus on one point at a time.”
On the cards
China became the favourites going into the final after they beat India 3-2 in the semi-finals yesterday. India fought back from 2-0 down but lost the deciding rubber when the mixed doubles pair of Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin beat Ishaan Bhatnagar and the UAE-bred Tanisha Crasto. India and Thailand had to settle for bronze.
Earlier, Korea came back from a match down to defeat Thailand 3-1 in the first semi-finals. All the four teams have qualified for the World Mixed Team Championships, the Sudirman Cup, scheduled for May 2023.
