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China still reigns badminton world
China proved again its dominance in the badminton world after the Athens Olympic Games, pocketing three out of the five gold medals at the 250,000 US dollars China Open badminton. Although losing the mixed double title to Denmark the previous night, the Chinese army marched to collect three on their own turfon Sunday. Defending champion Lin Dan beat his teammate Bao Chunlai to give China a one-two finish in men's singles. The current world No. 1 won in straight sets 15-11, 15-10. Olympic champion Taufik of Indonesian and Dane veteran Kenneth Jonassen shared the bronze medals. Xie Xingfang, repeating a breathtaking performance in the women's singles final, toppled Wang Chen from Chinese Hong Kong 5-11, 11-3, 11-4 to clinch her third successive title after the Athens Games. In the women's doubles, Chinese top-seeded pair Yang Wei/Zhang Jiewen overcame their compatriots Wei Yili/Zhao Tingting 15-14, 15-12 to add a third gold medal. Du Jing/Yu Yang and its Olympic champion Gao Ling/Huang Sui were joint third for a Chinese sweep of medals in the traditional domain. "I'm satisfied with the results although we have one more titlemissing compared to last year," Chinese head coach Li Yongbo said. "Our players have been short of regular training since the Athens Games." China grabbed four titles at the 2003 edition, only leaving men's doubles to Denmark. Denmark won the mixed doubles instead in 2004 through third-seeded Jens Eriksen/Mette Schjoldager, who downed host players Chen Qiqiu/Zhao Tingting 15-13, 13-15, 15-8 on Saturday. Reunited Indonesian top pair Candra Wijaya/Sigit Budiarto became the men's doubles gold medallists. The former world champions were supposed to clash with fifth-seeded Chew Choon-Eng/Choong Tan-Fook of Malaysia in the final, but won by walkover as the Malaysian duo withdrew due to Chew's bad cold, according to organizers. China also showcased its strength in depth as three of its teenagers surged into the men's singles quarterfinals and 17-year-old Gong Weijie ousted world No. 2 Peter Gade of Denmark. The 21-year-old Lin already felt the pressure from his younger teammates. "I have felt pressed since the Athens Olympic Games, and I worked even harder after that." Lin made a shocking first-round exit in Athens where he was widely recognized as hottest title-contender. "Young guys are catching up very soon and that also pushes me to keep advancing," he said. South Korean head coach Kim Jong Soo also thought highly of China's youngsters and their prospects in the Beijing Olympic Games. "I almost lost confidence when I saw their performance during this week," he joked. "China is and definitely will be uncomparable in men's and women 's singles, and women's doubles of course. I think other countries can only compete with them in men's doubles and mixed doubles."
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