China sweep 3 golds as badminton concludes at Asiad
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E-mail Xinhua, October 8, 2023
China's shuttlers claimed three titles as the badminton competition of the Hangzhou Asian Games ended on Saturday.
Zheng Siwei (rear)/Huang Yaqiong of China compete during the Mixed Doubles Gold Medal Match of Badminton between Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong of China and Watanabe Yuta/Higashino Arisa of Japan at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Han)
Rising star Li Shifeng beat his compatriot Shi Yuqi in the men's singles final, while the host nation also triumphed in women's doubles and mixed doubles events.
Li won an intense first game 23-21, before clinching the second comfortably, 21-13.
23-year-old Li, who also spearheaded the hosts to win the men's team gold last Sunday, did not drop one game across team and singles events on his Asian Games debut.
"It was a great final, I am very happy to meet Shi in the final," said Li. "I'm younger, so my mental burden is not so heavy."
Despite missing out on the gold, Shi was delighted to see the rise of Chinese youngsters.
"To play against Li in the final in such a difficult tournament, I'm happy no matter what the result is. Taking gold and silver medals proved China's strength, and I believe we are on the right path," said Shi.
In the women's singles final, world No. 1 An Se-young of South Korea underlined her supremacy by defeating China's Olympic champion Chen Yufei.
The 21-year-old An suffered a knee injury in the first game, but still showed her dominance to win the thriller 21-18, 17-21, 21-8.
With the win, An has claimed 10 titles in 13 tournaments this season, including the World Championships in August.
In the mixed doubles, China's Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong defended their title after besting Japan's Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino in straight games 21-15, 21-14.
"In 2018, we had just won the World Championship and then the Asian Games in Jakarta, and we were very confident," Zheng commented.
"But in Hangzhou, every match has been tougher than expected. But with a few years of growth, our ability to deal with difficulties has improved significantly, and we grow more mature."
Also on Saturday, world No.1 women's pair Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan took revenge and secured gold after besting Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na of South Korea 21-18, 21-17.
The men's doubles saw India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty crush Choi Sol-gyu and Kim Won-ho of South Korea 21-18, 21-6, clinching their first gold medal at a multi-sport event.
With four titles, China topped the gold medal table in the badminton event, followed by South Korea with two golds and India with one.
