BANGKOK – South Korea stunned defending champions China to win badminton’s prestigious Uber Cup today in an epic battle that went down to the wire in Bangkok.
The holders were aiming for a 16th title in the women’s team championship but with the countries deadlocked at 2-2 it all boiled down to a singles match between China’s 15th-ranked Wang Zhiyi and 46th-ranked Sim Yu-jin.
Sim, who turned 23 yesterday, sprang an upset by beating Wang 28-26, 18-21, 21-8 in 88 thrilling minutes – and with that, claimed for South Korea its first Uber Cup crown in 12 years.
It was a hugely disappointing conclusion for China, which had jumped out to an early lead in the tie when Chen Yufei sealed a spectacular come-from-behind win against An Se-young in a marathon match full of drama.
Chen, the world number three and Tokyo Olympic gold medallist, went down 21-17 in the opening game to fourth-ranked An.
An built a five-point lead early in the second game but Chen roared back to take that game 21-15 and sealed the decider 22-20 despite suffering an injury scare to her ankle.
An, who is still only 20, had her own problem with a cramp in her right hamstring and both players collapsed on the court in exhaustion after 91 minutes of gruelling action.
A disappointed and emotional An, who triumphed over top-ranked Japanese star Akane Yamaguchi a day earlier, said she was worried she had let down her teammates.
“I tried my best, as much as I could... I was at 20 points but then I lost control,” she said of her failure to capitalise on three match points.
Indonesia play India in Sunday’s Thomas Cup, the men’s team championship, also in the Thai capital. – AFP, May 14, 2022
