All-conquering China win ninth Sudirman Cup
An imperious China won their fifth consecutive Sudirman Cup and ninth
overall, crushing South Korea 3-0 on Sunday. Despite some hiccups along
the way -- the Chinese were stretched to the limit by Indonesia in the
quarter-finals before winning 3-2 -- the Great Wall proved impenetrable
and they look set to dominate the World Championships in Guangzhou from
Aug 5-11.
They won all five world titles two years ago in Paris and all five
Olympic gold medals in London last year.
Sunday’s Sudirman Cup victory at the Putra Stadium was also the fifth
straight final in the word mixed team championships that China have won
without dropping a match.
But Chinese coach Li Yongbo insisted it had been a tough tournament,
with teams like Thailand showing progress by reaching their first ever
semi-final.
“I disagree with anyone who say we had it easy in this tournament. We
had to fight all the way to win this title,” said Li. China’s mixed pair
of Xu Chen and Ma Jin got the ball rolling by defeating Asian champions
Ko Sung-Hyun and Kim Ha-Na 21-13, 21-15.
AFP
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