World champion Chen Long wins Superseries title

China’s world champion Chen Long finished 2014 on a high by winning the World Superseries Finals title on Sunday, brushing past Hans-Kristian Vittinghus of Denmark 21-16, 21-10 in just 47 minutes.

It was Chen’s fourth major title of the season and he secured it in some style with Vittinghus failing to win another point from 10-10 in the second game.

“I’m happy with my game. This is the first time Dubai is hosting such a big event and I’m very happy with the way it was organised,” said Chen.

“I believe that with so many Chinese and Indian people living here, badminton has a great future in Dubai and I’m looking forward to coming back.”

Taiwan’s Tai Tzu Ying claimed the women’s title with a 21-17, 21-12 win over South Korea’s Sung Ji Hyun.

“Tai is now as good as the top Chinese players,” admitted Sung. “She is very aggressive and powerful; I found it hard to return her smashes today.”

Tai played down her victory.

“I didn’t expect it to be this easy. Maybe Sung was not at her best and she made many mistakes,” said the Taiwanese player who found her form late in the season.

“I fell sick twice this year; that’s why I could not compete at a high level. Having won the Hong Kong Open and this event, I expect that my opponents will study me closely, but that’s something I cannot avoid. I will have to adjust accordingly.”

Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi handed China their first defeat in a major final in women’s doubles for over a year by beating world champions Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei 21-17, 21-14.

“This result was far from what we expected,” said Tian.

“We need to study this game and find what went wrong. Our rivals were very good today; we just didn’t employ the right tactics. We didn’t make many mistakes, but we weren’t patient enough.”

Takahashi said their main goal this year had been the world championships, but they were happy to win the year-ending finale.

“We didn’t have a specific strategy. The Chinese are hard to beat because they usually maintain the attack. We never expected to win in straight games,” she said.

South Korea’s Lee Yong Dae and Yoo Yeon Seong claimed the men’s doubles by beating China’s Chai Biao and Hong Wei 19-21, 21-19, 21-16.

World and Olympic champions Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei took just 41 minutes to beat Chinese compatriots Liu Cheng and Bao Yixin 21-15, 21-12 in the mixed doubles final. – Agence France-Presse