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E-mail Xinhua, March 11, 2024
The Chinese badminton team clinched three titles at this year's BWF World Tour French Open, featuring a stunning comeback by Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan in the women's doubles. Shi Yuqi and the mixed doubles duo Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping also emerged victorious in their respective categories.
Feng Yanzhe(R)/Huang Dongping of China compete during the mixed doubles final match against Seo Seung Jae/Chae Yu Jung of South Korea at the French Open Badminton tournament in Paris, France, March 10, 2024. (Photo by Aurelien Morissard/Xinhua)
Taking place at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena, the tournament served as a test event for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. This venue, dedicated to badminton and rhythmic gymnastics at the upcoming Olympics, is the only permanent facility constructed within the smaller Paris area specifically for the Games.
The most dramatic match of the day was the women's doubles final between Chen/Jia and Japan's pair Matsuyama Nami/Shida Chiharu.
World No.1 Chen and Jia won the first game with ease at 21-12. However, starting from the second game, due to increasing errors from the Chinese duo, Matsuyama/Shida gradually took control and pulled one back at 21-19, and then took a significant lead in the third set.
"I made many mistakes in the second game, I know that myself. The beginning of the third also didn't go smoothly either. Towards the end, I was redeeming myself," a tearful Jia said in a post-match interview.
The turning point of the match came in the final stage of the decisive game, with the Japanese pair leading at 20-15 and having five match points. However, the resilient Chinese players scored six consecutive points to regain control before ultimately winning the game 24-22.
"We didn't think that we were only one point away from defeat, but rather thought that we still needed seven points to win the match," Jia said.
In the mixed doubles, Feng and Huang easily overcame the challenge posed by South Korean world champions Seo Seung-Jae and Chai Yu-Jung, winning 21-16, 21-16 to take the title.
The men's singles saw Shi Yuqi adding to China's success by defeating Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn, the reigning world champion, in a closely contested match that ended 22-20, 21-19.
The women's singles crown was claimed by South Korea's An Se-young, who rallied to defeat Japan's Akane Yamaguchi 18-21, 21-13, 21-10. The men's doubles title went to India's top-seeded duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who bested Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan of Chinese Taipei 21-11, 21-17.
Following the French Open, the world's top badminton players will compete in the All-England Open in Birmingham, Britain.
