Rio de Janeiro: Although it was just a Grand Prix tournament, China continued its dominance in badminton with another set of exemplary performances as the Chinese produced a clean sweep to win all five titles on offer at the Brasil Open on Sunday.
Men’s singles final saw the matchup between the top two ranked players of the tournament, where No. 1 seed Lin Dan needed only 48 minutes to dispatch Spaniard Pablo Abian 21-13, 21-17 to win the men’s singles title.
Unseeded Huang Kaixiang/Zheng Siwei of China pulled off an upset to beat compatriots No. 2 seeds Wang Yilv/Zhang Wen 22-24, 21-10, 21-14 in the men’s doubles final that lasted 49 minutes.
Having lost their previous encounter to No. 1 seeds Eefje Muskens/Selena Piek of Netherlands, Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan of China came into the women’s doubles final clash well-prepared as the one-sided match eventually went Chen/Jia’s way, winning 21-17, 21-14 in 33 minutes.
In an all-Chinese women’s singles final, Shen Yaying survived a major scare in the decider against Li Yun, with the 21-year-old Shen ultimately emerged victorious with 20-22, 21-17, 24-22 in a grueling 81 minutes battle.
The mixed doubles final almost looked too easy for Zheng Siwei who won the men’s doubles title earlier in the day. Zheng partnered Chen Qingchen to see off Evgenij Dremin/Evgenia Dimova of Russia 21-12, 21-10 in 22 minutes to lift the mixed doubles crown.
