YONEX-SUNRISE BWF World Championships '09 - China take four, Danes end six-year wait
News 8:31 AM
Lin Dan once again entered history by scooping a third title in a row, virtually unbeaten in major competition since his world crown in 2006 while Thomas Laybourn and Kamilla Rytter Juhl ended Denmark’s six-year wait for a world title.
As expected, in the men’s singles, both players know each other’s game so well, the match was very pleasant to follow – and also because there was obviously no pressure as it was an all-China final.
Jump smashes, dives, impressive net rallies, all that at very high pace. In the first game, Lin Dan had taken too big of a margin for Chen to catch up and he was half way through his historical record with a 21/18 lead into the match.
The second game was more balanced with some great rallies which got the crowd cheering and clapping. At 14/14, the Olympic champion accelerated and scored 3 points in a row to lead 17/14. Chen fought back and scored twice but Lin Dan was already up 20/16.
The match point was anticlimax as Lin’s short serve landed on the floor and the two players wondered whether it was in or out. The Umpire announced that the match was over a few seconds later with both players still confused about the ending.
“I don’t think one can say I’m a genius. I just work hard for my victories. I feel honoured to win here and to bring back the Gold medal to
Kamilla Rytter Juhl and Thomas Laybourn have ended
And they were the first ever Danes to clinch a Gold Medal outside
If the previous day, it was Kamilla’s stomach’s problem which had drawn the duo to play in a rather calmer mode than usual, this time, it was the team’s strategy from scratch. “We just wanted to relax and be calm on court. It hard worked the previous day so we sticked to this strategy,” said Kamilla Rytter Juhl.
And it worked wonders. They played point after point like it was a daily routine, focused, yet showing very little emotions – a clear contrast with their usual exuberant style. And point after point, Nova Widianto and Lyliana Natsir looked more and more anxious, failing to communicate between each other.
The first game was a done deal 21/13. And once again, very close to the net, exchanging position with just as much efficiency, the Danes took another clear lead in the second game. The Indonesians seemed clueless on how to break the Danish wall, while Thomas and Kamilla were serving over and over and adding points. Leading 13/7, then 19/12, things looked very bad for Widianto and Natsir but a last minute moment or pride saw the Asians score 4 points.
Lars Uhre and Kenneth Jonassen, on the Danish bench, looked suddenly nervous, but their shuttlers held their nerves and ended the long wait – 14 years exactly when a Danish mixed doubles won gold for the last time.
“This is one of the best days in my life, definitely the best one of my badminton career. Winning here after beating the three best pairs in the world in a World Championships is just amazing. For Kamilla and myself, it is so perfect,” said Laybourn.
“Well, we are great friends but I dedicate this victory to my little daughter back home” he added. For Kamilla Rytter Juhl, this comes as a dream come true. “I still don’t realize it; I keep crying and crying. I’m just so happy today. We came in with the right tactic and we remained calm the whole match. Now that we won, it’s great for Europe in general and
The new women’s world champion is Lu Lan, depriving the couple of Xie Xingfang and Lin Dan the honours of bringing home two medals of the same color. The 22 year old
After a tight first game, won 23/21, the motivation and energy was all gone on Xie’s side, while Lu Lan was clearly boosted by this crucial advantage. The second game went by rather quickly, Xie committing many unforced errors to compete with Lu Lan, who was playing some of her best badminton ever.
“After the Olympics, I felt like there was more motivation from the younger players. They are eager to win everything and today, it showed on court that she wanted to win. As for myself, I was also feeling tired after losing the first game,” said Xie Xingfang, who has not made her decision yet whether she would retire or go on.
In the women’s doubles, Zhang Yawen and Zhao Tingting came on top of a fierce confrontation against their younger compatriots Zhao Yunlei and Cheng Shu. One hour and 4 minutes of battle for the four players who finished exhausted after a match were the crowd had been supporting both sides with enthusiasm.
Zhao and Zhang won 17/21 – 21/17 – 21/16 and both shuttlers couldn’t hold their tears after the game, during the TV Interview as well as on the podium, as they had both always failed to win a major title in women’s doubles, Zhao Tingting having played with many different partners, but never peaked as a world champion.
The last match of the day was one of the most exciting of the day between two extravagant pairs. Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng of
If Li Yongbo had deserted the Chinese bench for the regular stands all week, he was back on the coach’s chair this time, and Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng promptly claimed the first game 21/18.
The Koreans then tightened their game in the second, used more of a flat game and speed. They caught up 21/16. The last game was to be one the closest and most exciting one of the modern era.
Both teams were on the very top of their games for an amazing finish, with no less than eight match points played in a crazy atmosphere.
The Koreans got two, thanks to some astonishing net play from Lee Young Dae, but at the end, it was his error, faulted on a serve and later, failing to convert what seemed to be an easy kill at the net, that cost them the match.
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 8:31 AM.
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