The Paper's reporter Ma Zuoyu
On October 3, China's Shi Yuqi celebrated after the men's singles match. In the end, he defeated Japan's Kento Momota 2-1. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Marty Matikenin)
In Vantaa, Finland, the Chinese badminton team achieved the goal of "winning the championship and defending the title" promised before the expedition.
On the evening of October 3, Beijing time, the 2021 Sudirman Cup Badminton Mixed Team Competition came to an end. The Chinese team finally defeated the Japanese team 3-1 with a large score, won the Sudirman Cup, and successfully defended the title.
This final can be described as unpopular.
In the case that Li Junhui / Liu Yuchen, the runner-up in men's doubles at the Tokyo Olympic Games, did not go with the team, the Chinese team of He Jiting / Zhou Haodong, who were "relatively weak" in the team, won the opening goal by defeating the Japanese team of Hogi Tsoro / Yugo Kobayashi 21-17, 14-21, 21-16. For the Chinese team, this is an ideal start.
Chinese team duo He Jiting (front)/Zhou Haodong celebrate after the men's doubles match.
However, when Olympic women's singles champion Chen Yufei faced Japanese women's singles player Akane Yamaguchi, Chen Yufei has always been at a disadvantage. After losing 19-21 in the first set, the slow-heat chen Yufei still did not find a way to restrain Akane Yamaguchi in the second set, and finally lost the second set 16-21. In the end, Chen Yufei lost to Akane Yamaguchi 0-2, which was a big upset.
In the case of a 1-1 draw in the big score, Shi Yuqi appeared. Facing the world's no. 1 Momota Kendou, Shi Yuqi played a wonderful performance.
Before this final, Shi Yuqi won 2 wins and 1 loss in this Sudirman Cup, lost to Thailand's brother Kunravut in the group stage, rebounded strongly after losing to Danish Olympic champion Arcelong in the quarterfinals, and reversed South Korea's main player Xu Guangxi 2-1 in the semifinals, helping Guoyu to sweep the opponent 3-0 to reach the final for the 14th time.
Against Momota Kendou, Shi Yuqi's mental outlook in the first set was very different from the past, and he took it 21-13 lightly. Shi Yuqi began to fall behind after 5 draws in the second set, falling behind by as many as 10 points in an instant, and finally quickly chose to give up, losing the second set 8-21. In the third set, Shi Yuqi scored 10 consecutive points after falling behind 1-3, and finally defeated Momota Kendou 21-12 to win a key point for the Chinese team.
On October 3, Japan's Kento Momota played in the men's singles competition. In the end, he lost 1-2 to Shi Yuqi of the Chinese team. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Marty Matikenin)
In the final women's doubles match, Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan defeated the Japanese women's doubles combination 21-17, 21-16, and finally helped China win 3-1 against Japan and defend the Sudirman Cup.
As Xia Xuanze, head coach of the singles group of the Chinese badminton team, said before the expedition, the team is dominated by "post-95" young players, the purpose is to let them have more experience in the competition and grow faster, but the goal is still to win the championship. Today, the Chinese team has achieved its goal, which also proves that the Chinese team still has enough dominance in the international badminton world.
It is worth mentioning that the international team has a tight schedule, after Finland's Vantaa won the Sudirman Cup, followed by the Toms Cup and Uber Cup held in Aarhus, Denmark, from October 9 to 17, and finally the Danish Open in Odense, Denmark, from October 19 to 24.
Editor-in-Charge: Zhu Yi