China win badminton thriller
Tuesday, 05 December, 2006

China have won gold in the men’s team badminton after
a thrilling 3–2 victory over Korea at ASPIRE on
Tuesday, following in the footsteps of their women’s
team who also won gold earlier in the day by beating
Japan 3–0.

Korean fans at the men's team badminton final held a
"Surprise Korea" banner, but it was the Chinese who
finished on top, winning the gold medal in the men's
team event at ASPIRE.

The Chinese team won 3–2 to the roar of a sell-out
crowd, already pumped up from the Chinese women team's
earlier 3–0 victory against Japan.

The men’s tie was an altogether closer affair though,
and when Lee Hyun Il beat world champion Lin Dan in
the opening singles rubber, China knew they were in
for a tough time. Men’s doubles world champions Fu
Haifeng and Cai Yun levelled the tie at 1–1 with a
victory over Lee Young Dae and Jung. As the Chinese
broke ahead for the first time the mood of the crowd
became electric.

It certainly helped Fu and Cai who won the first set
21–19. China then commanded the second set with Fu
unbeatable from the baseline, delighting with high
leaps and spectacular smashes. The Chinese took the
second set 21–14 and the match 2–0.

China continued their winning streak in the second
men's singles match. 20 year-old Chen Jin beat Park
Sung Hwan 18–21, 21–6, 21–11. Park's quick returns
kept the Chinese busy, while Chen's drop shots had
Park on his knees several times.

Park appeared asleep as Chen raced ahead, dominating
the second set and winning 21–6. Park woke up for the
third set with some spectacular returns, but Chen was
too strong. A frustrated Park missed several shots and
Chen took the set and the match.

In the crucial fourth match, Lee Jae Jin and Hwang Ji
Man beat Zheng Bo and Guo Zhendong in the second
doubles rubber 21–17, 13–21, 21–14. Everything hinged
on the final tie, which turned out to be a little
anti-climatic, with world No2 Bao Chunlai comfortably
beating Shon Seung Mo 21–9, 21–8 to take the gold for
China.

Afterwards, Bao said: "I am really happy. This
competition was very important for us. As the point
margin between us started to lengthen, my mood settled
down a bit." He was also surprised at the ease of his
victory. He said: "I just did my best and prepared
well."

Meanwhile, China coach Li Yongbo said of his team,
"Their performance was great because they gave their
all. I am very satisfied." He also said that he
preferred to win 3–2, than a straightforward win.
Actually, rather than just winning 3–0, I think this
tough training is good for them."

Commenting on Lin Dan's surprise loss, he said, "It's
impossible for a person to never lose. What is
important is to keep up your motivation. It's not that
Lin Dan didn't play well today. My judgement was 90
percent that he would win. But then I knew it is
always possible that he would lose. The most important
thing is to be satisfied with yourself. I think he
puts too much expectation on himself."

Lin lost 20–22, 21–11, 21–13 to a determined Lee. In
the deciding set, Lin held the upper hand in the early
stages and led 8–5 at one stage, but from that point,
Lee won seven consecutive points and never looked back
as he wrapped up a fine victory 21–13.

Afterwards, Lin said: “I was not in a very good state
today. The second set went a bit more smoothly for me.
There were also several opportunities in the third
set.” Chen Ji, who won the second singles rubber, has
been a crucial figure for China throughout the
tournament. After his victory over Park Sung Hwan, he
said, "I'm very excited and happy.

“In the beginning I was rushing a bit. In the third
set when I was down by a few points, I just calmed
myself down. I feel that I perform well under
pressure. My opponent is very tough, but in the end my
level of confidence was higher. I've played him
before, so I feel I was mentally prepared."

Park admitted that fitness was a huge factor in the
result, "I had confidence going into the match, but I
couldn't cope with Chen's speed, which was getting
faster. I was running out of energy and strength, so
my speed was decreasing a lot in the middle of the
match. Chen is fast and has a lot of strength. I think
the main reason why I lost was my defence."

Hwang Ji Man of Korea, who took the tie to a deciding
fifth match with his doubles victory with partner Lee
Jae Jin commented after their victory, "I knew China
was a strong opponent before the tournament, so we
prepared a long time in advance, especially since we
don't have to go to military service if we win a gold
medal."

"Service and receiving is very important in doubles so
we put a lot of preparation into that. We've been
preparing for a while, we have been watching a lot of
game tapes and analysing them. Our team prepared
psychologically. We got ready for this event both
mentally and physically.

"China has always had a strong team, wherever you go,
and we were expecting that. We entered the match on a
positive after Lee Hyun Il beat Lin Dan in the first
singles match. It was definitely an advantage for our
team. We felt really comfortable going into the
match."





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