Paris: Who would have thought Carsten Mogensen whom was on the edge between life and death at the end of February could ever play competitive badminton again, let alone winning another Superseries title.
Well, Mogensen who underwent emergency surgery in February to treat a ruptured aortic aneurysm in his brain together with his men’s doubles partner Mathias Boe just showed why everyone shouldn’t count them out yet by defying the odds to win their 3rd French Open title on Sunday over Bodin Isara/Nipitphon Phuangphuapet of Thailand.
Mogensen/Boe lost the first set to Isara/Phuangphuapet 19-21. The Danish pair managed to force a decider by claiming the second set 21-18. While Mogensen/Boe were ahead with 2-0 in the third set, a left mid-court cross shot from Mogensen had Isara dive to the rescue. Unfortunately, Isara seriously injured his left knee from the dive, and the Thai pair had to retire from the match when they were down by 0-3 in the third set.
The French Open was Boe/Mogensen’s first Superseries title in 19 months after they beat Fu Haifeng/Zhang Nan 21-17, 22-20 to win the 2015 All England.
In men’s singles, 20-year-old Shi Yuqi of China played with unbelievable defensive skills and speed to topple 36-year-old former World No. 1 Lee Hyun-il of Korea 21-16, 21-19 in 45 minutes.
Besides winning the men’s singles title, badminton powerhouse China also took home 3 more titles on Sunday.
In women’s singles final, He Bingjiao showed her class to oust Zhang Beiwen of USA 21-9, 21-9 in 33 minutes. Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan of China started the day by defeating South Korean pair and No. 6 seeds Chang Ye Na/Lee So Hee 21-16, 21-17 to take home the women’s doubles crown. Chen Qingchen then made a double delight for herself when she and Zheng Siwei pulled off an upset to dispatch No. 1 seeds Ko Sung Hyun/Kim Ha Na of Korea 21-16, 21-19 to triumph in the mixed doubles final.
