China beat South Korea to clinch Sudirman Cup title

Xiamen (China), May 4 (IANS) China clinched the 2025 Sudirman Cup title after beating South Korea 3-1 in the final here on Sunday.

China have won the biennial badminton mixed team world championship 14 times since Indonesia was crowned in the first edition in 1989. South Korea have triumphed four times in the competition.

In the mixed doubles, the first duel of the best-of-five final, China's Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping beat Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yu-jung 21-16 in the first game, but the South Korean pair recovered in the second with a 21-17 win. However, Feng and Huang took the deciding one 21-15, reports Xinhua.

"Two years ago, our teammates Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong did very well in the final match. We learned a lot in this year's matches. I think I performed perfectly and Huang is still passionate," Feng told Xinhua.

Huang praised her partner Feng with the word "perfect," saying, "he grows a lot and deals with some deciding points very reasonably."

In the following women's singles, China's Wang Zhiyi lost to World No. 1 An Se-young 21-17, 21-16.

"I had a mix feeling with nervousness and excitement because this is the first time I played in the Sudirman Cup final," said Wang.

"Today I played the basic tactics we prepared, but I made a lot of mistakes," the world No. 2 added.

China's Shi Yuqi had a comfortable win over Jeon Hyeok-jin 21-5, 21-5 in the men's singles, giving China a 2-1 lead over South Korea.

"I feel my condition is getting better game by game. Although my opponent's world ranking is relatively low, I remember that I had a struggling match in the last Thomas Cup. So I went all out," Shi said.

Olympic women's doubles silver medallists Tan Ning and Liu Shengshu sealed the victory for China after defeating world No. 3 Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee 21-14, 21-17.

--IANS

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