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E-mail Xinhua, September 23, 2024
Host China secured four of the five titles at the badminton China Open on Sunday after the men's doubles pair was outscored in the final following a waist injury to Ren Xiangyu during the first set.
Weng Hongyang of China hits a return during the men's singles final match against Naraoka Kodai of Japan at the China Open 2024 badminton tournament in Changzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, Sept. 22, 2024. (Xinhua/Yang Lei)
In the men's doubles final, China's He Jiting/Ren started strong, winning the first set 21-13 with ease. However, Ren strained his waist while diving for a save.
"I felt it wasn't going to work," Ren recalled after the match. Although the coach suggested retiring after the first set, Ren decided to continue.
"Considering how hard it was to reach the finals, I decided to push through. We won the first set by a large margin, so I thought we could adjust a bit in the second and fight again in the third."
After emergency treatment between sets, Ren and his partner returned to the court. The Malaysian pair Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzuddin quickly leveled the match with a 21-12 win in the second set.
Despite being on the defensive in the final set, He/Ren battled hard but ultimately lost 21-17. Ren expressed his frustration after the match, saying, "It's frustrating to lose the match in this way."
In the all-Chinese women's doubles final, Li Wenmei/Zhang Shuxian took the initiative with strong defense, winning the first set 21-11. Li Yijing/Luo Xumin responded in the second set, scoring three consecutive points after a 16-all tie to win 21-18. Li/Luo were dominant in the final set, winning 21-8 and clinching their first-ever BWF World Tour Super 1000 title.
In the mixed doubles final, China's second-seeded Feng Yanzhe/Huang Dongping faced Malaysia's Goh Soon Huat/Lai Shevon Jemie. Overcoming a one-set deficit, they secured the win 16-21, 21-14, 21-17.
"We encountered some difficulties during the match. After losing the first set, the second set was also quite tense, including falling behind by a large margin at the start," said Feng.
"The positive aspect is that during the crucial points in the second set, our spirit and demeanor allowed us to gain some momentum and take the upper hand," he added.
In singles play, China's Weng Hongyang and Wang Zhiyi claimed the men's and women's singles titles, both winning in straight sets against Japan's Kodai Naraoka and Tomoka Miyazaki, respectively.
