China stamped their dominance at the finals of the 2005
Invitational Badminton World Cup in the Central China city
yesterday by sweeping all five gold medals on offer.
The new 21-point scoring rule was implemented at the
tournament.
The unstoppable mixed doubles pairing of Xie Zhongbo and Zhang
Yawen dominated the battle against world champions Widianto Nova
and Nastsir Lilyana of Indonesia in a replay of the 2005 World
Championships final. The Chinese duo edged out their opponents
21-19, 21-10 to avenge the earlier defeat and claim the title.
"We need a bit more time to get used to the new 21-point scoring
rules, as matches become faster and more aggressive," Widianto said
after the match.
Current world No.1 Lin Dan frustrated Thailand's Olympic
semi-finalist Ponsana Boonsak 21-13, 21-11 to seal the coveted gold
for China.
"I was fully focused during the match, and it was a good game,"
Lin said. "The new scoring system made the game harder to predict,
and you can't say that's favorable for me."
"He is faster than I am," explained a timid Boonsak, giving a
key reason for the defeat.
In the women's singles final clash, world No.2 Xie Xingfang
pulled off a 21-19, 21-16 convincing victory over her compatriot
and world and Olympic champion Zhang Ning.
"I think it was a top-class match, and both of us displayed our
quality," Xie told reporters.
"We both played well, but I didn't have good control," Zhang
said.
Yang Wei and Zhang Jiewen upset another Chinese pair, Wei Yili
and Zhang Yawen, 21-18, 21-15 in the women's doubles final while Fu
Haifeng and Cai Yun downed Indonesian veterans Wijaya Candra and
Budiarto Sigit in the men's doubles final.
(China Daily December 19, 2005)
