Xia Xuanze Wins Men's Singles at China Grand Prix Badminton

Giant Panda Culture Festival Held in Fuzhou

---

Men's world top shuttler Xia Xuanze of China was crowned in the men's singles at the 225,000-US-dollar Youngor Super Badminton China Grand Prix with a 3-2 edge over Malaysian Wong Choong Hann on Sunday.

With Xia's victory, badminton powerhouse China, who stunned the world to take four gold medals in Sydney Olympics, surprised to clinch five golds from as many events in the five-star IBF tournament.

Xia added the third gold medal to his pocket this year by ousting world number 11 Wong Choong Hann with a score of 7-3, 3-7, 7-2, 5-7 and 7-4.

"I still have many weakpoints though I won the title," said Xia, who won 2000 the World Grand Prix finals and Asian Championships this year.

"Xia performed better today than me, especially in the deciding game he stayed firm and made little errors," siad Wong, who has never beat Xia in their encounters before.

The first four games saw the two players playing aggressively through accurate net play, leaving the match even at 2-2.

In the deciding rubber, Xia fell behind at 0-3, mainly due to his unforced mistakes. Then he regained his form by pacing up his feet and making more pressure on his opponent through powerfull smashes and delicate net playment. He managed to gain five points in a row to lead at 5-3.

After conceding one more point, Xia kept pressure on Wong with his cross smash and net play, winning two crucial points from Wong, who smashed into net and returned out.