Tai Tzu Ying shocks Wang Yihan to win Indonesia Open

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The 2016 Indonesian Open women's singles champion Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan stands on the podium next to runner-up Wang Yihan of China. (photo: AFP)

Jakarta: Chinese Taipei’s women’s singles shuttler Tai Tzu Ying stunned former World Champion Wang Yihan of China to lift her first ever Indonesia Open title on Sunday.

The unseeded Tai, who has been in sizzling form since defeated 2012 Olympic champion Li Xuerui in the second round, dashed past No. 4 seed Wang Yihan 21-17, 21-8 in 34 minutes for the title.The 2016 Indonesian Open women's singles champion Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan stands on the podium next to runner-up Wang Yihan of China. (photo: AFP)

This year’s Indonesia Open was especially memorable for Tai Tzu Ying, as she has successfully defeated three top Chinese women’s singles shuttlers before lifting the title. She beat No. 3 seed Li Xuerui in the second round, No. 6 seed Wang Shixian in the semis and No. 4 seed Wang Yihan in the final.

The 21-year-old Tai was grateful for her win in the final.

“Wang played a long match in semi-final before beating Carolina Marin in 3-sets, while I had an easy semis. Therefore, I have an advantage in terms of stamina which makes the difference,” said Tai.

The victory also gave Tai a 5-3 head-to-head career meeting advantage over Wang Yihan.

“I didn’t expect to play Wang in the final. To be honest, my toughest opponent in the tournament was actually Li Xuerui,” added Tai.

Meanwhile, Japanese No. 1 women’s doubles pair Misaki Matsutomo/Ayaka Takahashi took home $71,000 U.S. dollars prize money after seeing off China’s Tang Yuanting and Yu Yang 21-15, 8-21, 21-15 in 66 minutes to win their first ever Indonesian Open title.The 2016 Indonesian Open gold medallists Misaki Matsutomo (2nd R) and Ayaka Takahasi (R) of Japan and silver medallists Tang Yuanting (L) and Yu Yang (2nd L) of China. (photo: AFP)

“The wind coming from the opposite direction has slowed down our shuttlecock in the second game. We tried our best in order not to be influenced by this situation in the third set, and it was apparently successful,” said Ayaka.

In the mixed doubles final, Xu Chen and Ma Jin of China successfully defended their title after they defeated South Korean Ko Sung Hyun and Kim Ha Na 21-15, 16-21, 21-13 in 58 minutes.

“The South Korean pair played very fast especially in the second set. Fortunately, we were able to regain control in the third set,” said Xu Chen after the match.

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