Taipei: Despite playing against home-country favorite Chou Tien Chen, Chen Long held on to tame Chou 15-21, 21-9, 21-6 and clinched the Chinese Taipei Open men’s title on Sunday.
With strong backing from the home crowd, Chou Tien Chen got off to a strong start as he dictated the rhythm to triumph with 21-15 in the first set. Chen Long recomposed himself and played very good defends early in the second set to neutralize Chou’s attacks. Chen built a huge lead by reeling off 6 points after 5-4, and went on to claim a commanding second set victory.
In the decider, Chen Long launched wave of attacks to quickly establish an 11-3 lead. After both men switched side, Chen continued to employ his pro-active, fluid and aggressive style which allowed him in total control of the rallies and to widen the gap between himself and Chou, before eventually winning the Chinese Taipei men’s crown. The Chinese Taipei crown was Chen Long’s fourth titles of the year, while the runner-up finish was Chou’s best result in a singles event this year.
“I knew have to rely on more speed in order to defeat Chen Long. I won the first set because Chen was uncomfortable with my speed; but when he gradually adapted to my style, together with his exceptional defense, it’s hard for me to beat him,” said Chou after the match.
Meanwhile, the all-Chinese women’s singles final became somewhat one-sided, when No.6 seed Wang Yihan dispatched No. 2 seed Li Xuerui 21-10, 21-9 to win the women’s title.
In what was considered the biggest chance Fu Haifeng/Zhang Nan ever had for winning their first championship this year, the Chinese pair unleashed a storm against unseeded men’s doubles pair Gideon Markus Fernaldi/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo throughout the match before throwing knockout punches at the Indonesians by winning 21-13, 21-8 in 23 minutes.
Nitya Krishinda Maheswari/Greysia Polii of Indonesia manage to prevent China from winning fourth titles of the day by defeating Luo Ying/Luo Yu 21-17, 21-17, and successfully defended the women’s doubles title they won in 2014.
The mixed doubles final was much more exciting than expected. The all-Korean pairs Ko Sung Hyun/Kim Ha Na and Shin Baek Choel/Yoo Jung Chae were battling back and forth with beautiful and precise shots until Ko/Kim until won the match with 21-16, 21-18 in 31 minutes.