China beats Japan 3-1 to claim 12th Sudirman Cup title

Chen Qingchen (L)/Jia Yifan of China competes against Matsumoto Mayu/Matsutomo Misaki of Japan during the women's doubles match of the final between China and Japan at Badminton Sudirman Cup 2021 in Vantaa, Finland, Oct. 3, 2021. (Photo by Matti Matikainen/Xinhua)

HELSINKI, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- China defeated Japan 3-1 on Sunday in 2021 Sudirman Cup final in Vantaa, Finland, claiming its 12th title of the tournament.

In the opening match of men's doubles, He Jiting and Zhou Haodong, outplayed world ranking No. 16 duo Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi, 21-17, 14-21, 21-16.

Zhou said to Xinhua he was so happy; even a bit over excited to win the opening game for the team.

"I don't really mind when we lost the second game, because we can start from zero in the third. We've learned the experience from the battle against Denmark and have become more patient. The winning trend is on our side," said Zhou.

"We bear in mind that we must win this game. There are so many Chinese fans in the arena cheering for us. The coach and teammates trust us and we try our best to secure the first win," said He.

Tokyo Olympic champion Chen Yufei lost to her old opponent, world No. 5 Akane Yamaguchi, 21-19, 21-16 in women's singles, after which Japan levelled the score 1-1.

"I had won some previous encounters against her when she had some troubles of injuries. She is now getting more powerful. I made too many mistakes today," said Chen, who lauded Akane "always a strong opponent with tough style."

Preparing for the match against Yamaguchi, Chen was ready for the long rally. "However, I did not start well in the opening set. I was feeling a bit tired and did not stay focus enough."

Like what happened in 2019 Sudirman Cup final, Shi Yuqi beat world top player Kento Momota in men's singles, 21-13, 8-21, 21-12, winning back the team lead 2-1.

"My feeling in second game seems not good enough, that's why I gave up the second and used full power in the third," Shi talked about his strategy.

"It means so much for me and my team. I won against him in the 2019 Sudirman Cup final and now I need to do that again. My target is not only recovering 100% from injuries but also becoming much stronger than before," said Shi.

In the following match of women's doubles, Tokyo Olympic silver medalists Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan took straight win against Mayu Matsumoto and Misaki Matsutomo, 21-17, 21-16, finishing strong and sealing the victory for China 3-1.

"I told myself before the match to take every possible chance to win the game. When the team led 2-1, we have to seal the victory and won't leave the game to the next match," said Jia.

Chen also talked about her strong will to contribute the team competition. "When we played our first Sudirman Cup, we got on the pitch when the team led 2-1, but we failed to take the win. Today, we did not let that happen. It feels so good!"