China gets four out of five

Aviva-Cofco China Masters 2006

March 13, 2006

 

Report by Raphael Sachetat, Badmintonphoto.com

 

Peter Gade didnt succeed in pulling the same trick as he did against Lin Dan and bowed to Chen Jin in the final, but Denmark still scooped one gold in the mens doubles event, giving a warning to Chinese Thomas Cup team.

 

Peter Gade of Denmark had done the toughest part in beating Lin Dan the previous evening with a last match to win in order to get the long awaited gold but Chen Jin was just best at adapting to the difficult conditions. The Dane however had a brilliant start, leading 13/6 in front of a vociferous crowd, but the young Chinese started speeding up the game and catching up to get back at 16/16, then 20/16. Gade came back 19/20 but Chen secured this important and last point to close up the game 21/19 even if it could have been controversial as Gades shuttle was announced out with a close call.

 

The first part of the second game was even, with a small lead from Gade at the beginning, but Chen Jins explosive attacks and constant pressure over the Dane saw him score an impressive run of points to take a clear lead at 18/13 then 20/14. With the new scoring system, this meant 6 match points. Far too many for the Chinese to miss this great opportunity to shine in front of his coach Li Yongbo and his fans, and Chen scored the next point for a final 21/19 - 21/14 win.

 

"Chen Jin is definitely the player of the future but I just had difficulties to adjust to the wind today. However, I feel that had it gone to a third game, I may have beaten him. But now I will focus on the Thomas Cup where I think we have a good chance of beating China," said Gade.

 

Chen Jin, naturally, was very excited about the win. "I had thought about this moment for a long time, and I am glad I beat Peter as he had beaten me in Denmark and the All England. Now I am almost sure that the coaches will pick me to be the third mens single for the Thomas Cup," said Chen Jin, whose name was formerly only "Chen" when he added "Jin" to honour his former coach - who had hosted him as well - Jin Chao.

 

As if this rainy Sunday of March was a symbol of the Chineses blooming generation, it was Wang Lin, the oriental princess of the Chinese team, who grabbed gold against Xie Xingfang in three games. It may have been that Xie was extremely clumsy or that she couldnt cope with the windy conditions, but the World Champion played far below her usual standard which proved a very low motivation.

 

Wang Lin couldnt have dreamt of a better opportunity to score her first title - a six-star tournament, on home ground! Wang was all over the court at the end of the game and scored many points on her smashes, while Xies defence was very poor. Wang finally won 21/15 - 13/21 - 21/15. "I am thrilled to have won here but I still need to work a lot to reach my elder compatriots level."

 

"Throughout the week, I thought I had a good chance to beat Yao Jie of the Netherlands, but I didnt hope I could beat some of the top players in the world and get the title. I just tried to prepare my best for this final," said Wang. "Now I know that there is still an open spot for the third single in the Uber Cup so I will try my best to get it." Xie commented on her match, "I wasnt focused at all and I was cold on court but she proved she is a very high level player, even if she lacks experience."

Lundgaard and Eriksen send warning to China

 

It could have been a clean sweep for China after Chens victory in the single, but there was one more match to play with a non-Chinese opponent. Martin Lundgaard and Jens Eriksen of Denmark, who have had an incredible run in 2006, losing no match at all since the beginning of the year with an All England title under their belts. And this final day made no difference as once again the Danes were very much on top of their opponents and secured a rather easy and quick victory over Cai and Fu, very much under pressure.

 

The Danes served and returned very well while the Chinese had trouble focusing, with a lot of unforced errors from Fu Haifeng during the end of the match. It ended in a 21/17 - 21/17 success for the Europeans. "It is always sweet to beat the Chinese especially on their home soil. Today, we played by far the best match of the tournament as we havent been playing well this week, but we were very strong in the first few shots," said Lundgaard.

 

The mixed double event, which started off the Sunday final session saw Xie Zhongbo and Zhang Yawen beat their elder compatriots Zhang Jun and Gao Ling in a match which could be a symbolic takeover from the younger Chinese generation. It was however a splendid battle and the youngster obviously were taking the match more to heart than the usual smiling Zhang and Gao.

 

This was helped by the fact that Xie Zhongbo and Zhang Yawen were cheered for, because Zhang is originally from Sichuan Province (Chongqinq) while Xie, born in Hunan, came to Sichuan to train for a long period of time. If both first games were uneven, one won on each side, the decider was a beauty, with numerous dives on both sides and a great end of match.

 

It was Xie and Zhang who got the first match point at 20/19, but after the best point of the match - where the shuttle hit the net on many occasions and when both pairs saved incredible shuttles from bouncing on the ground, it was finally Gao and Zhang who scored to reach a perfect even score at one game all and 20/20. But once again, the youngsters were back on top of their game the next rally, as always clapping each others hand after scoring, and eventually finished it off when Xie smashed three times in a row, getting closer to the net each time to score the last point of the game.

 

It is the first time Zhang and Gao have lost to their compatriots in international competition. Gao Ling however had another shot at Gold in the last match of the day, and she took it, with her friend and smiling partner Huang Sui, when they beat compatriots Wei/Zhang in three games.