Chinese romp away with 6th Sudirman Cup

---

World power China reasserted its mastery over a talent-laden field and lifted the Sudirman Cup for a record sixth time, capping its romp with a sweep of Indonesia, 3-0, in the final of the 10th World Team Championships Sunday in Glasgow, Scotland.

Gao Ling and Zheng Bo battled back from a set down to turn back Limpele Flandy and Vita Marissa, 19-21, 21-17, 21-19, to win the opening mixed doubles match. It was a sorry setback for the Indon pair, priming up for the Bingo Bonanza Philippine Open slated July
18-22 at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City, Metro Manila.

Inspired by that scary win, the Chinese juggernaut went into full throttle in the next two rubbers to re-stake their claim as the world’s dominant badminton nation. Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng beat Kido Markis and Candra Wijaya, 21-11, 21-13, while Olympic chamapion Zhang
Ning clinched the Cup with a 21-16, 21-9 victory over Adriyanta Fridasari, who incidentally is also bound for the RP Open, a Grand Prix Gold tournament sponsored by Bingo Bonanza, sanctioned by the International Badminton Federation and organized by IMG.

The Chinese rout was a virtual repeat of their victory over the Indons when the Sudirman Cup was last played in Beijing in 2005. China’s sweep of the first three rubbers also paved the way for the scrapping of the women’s doubles and the men’s singles where China’s world champion Lin Dan and Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat were supposed to meet.

Meanwhile, Hidayat, also the reigning Asian Games titlist, has also confirmed his participation to play in the Philippine Open, which also stakes world ranking points and serves as an Olympic Qualifying tournament where players shoot for important ranking points to qualify for next year’s Olympiad in Beijing.