Huang Dongping (L)/Zheng Yu of China pose during the awarding ceremony for the women's doubles final against Lee So-hee/Shin Seung-chan of South Korea at the Victor Denmark Open 2021 in Odense, Denmark, Oct. 24, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Cheng)
Chinese shuttlers Huang Dongping/Zheng Yu beat South Korean opponents to win the women's doubles title at Denmark Open.
ODENSE, Denmark, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shuttlers Huang Dongping and Zheng Yu beat second seeds Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan of South Korea here on Sunday to claim the women's doubles title at the BWF Denmark Open.
The newly-paired Huang and Zheng continued to surprise since shocking Tokyo Olympic champions Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu of Indonesia in the quarterfinal. They won the final in straight sets 21-15, 21-17.
"I'm really happy to win the title with my new partner. Frankly speaking, I did not expect to go as far as the final, or even to win the title," said Zheng. "I was very surprised to win the matches one after another. The coach and Huang have always given me confidence to keep fighting. I tried many new tactics in the final and they worked."
Huang Dongping (L)/Zheng Yu of China compete during the women's doubles final against Lee So-hee/Shin Seung-chan of South Korea at the Victor Denmark Open 2021 in Odense, Denmark, Oct. 24, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Cheng)
Having collected Sudirman Cup, Uber Cup and Denmark Open titles, Huang had won all her matches except the mixed doubles semifinal.
Huang told Xinhua she hoped to challenge herself to see if she could continue to improve after three consecutive tournaments.
"Honestly, I think I can go on fighting. I'm always thinking how to play the game under exhausting scenarios," said the Tokyo Olympic mixed doubles champion.
"It was a perfect tour for me in the past few weeks, though I lost the mixed doubles semifinal here in Odense," added Huang. "But winning most of the games is actually the proof of my power. I'm lucky to win these titles."
Elsewhere, Tokyo Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen shone at Odense Sports Park by beating world No. 1 men's singles player Kento Momota 20-22, 21-18, 21-12 in their final clash.
"Obviously Kento is really strong opponent, a fantastic player. The first set was tough for me mentally and physically. I thought I should take the chance to grab the first set, but Kento played a really stable game," said the Dane.
"In the second set, I was thinking, 'Oh no, not again.' But then Kento was a little bit relaxed in the second set and struggled a little bit in the third," added the Odense-born shuttler. "It goes up and down in a match like this one when you are so close and playing against a great player."
The 27-year-old told Xinhua that beating Kento in the final on home soil was a dream come true. "After the Olympics, I could have laid back a little bit, but my goal is to reach the highest level I can."
Elsewhere, Japanese shuttlers dominated the finals by winning the women's singles, the men's doubles and the mixed doubles.
An Se-young took the first set 21-18 against second seed Akane Yamaguchi, who fought back and took a nail-biting second set 25-23. The fifth-seeded South Korean retired while trailing 16-5 in the decider to Yamaguchi.
Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi smashed Denmark's Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 21-18, 21-12 to win the men's doubles title.
Fourth-seeded mixed doubles pair Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino overwhelmed second seeds Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand 21-18, 21-9. ■
