Chi claim 10th Sudirman Cup

Dongguan, May 17 : Chi’s strength and depth proved too much for Japan as the defending champions clinched their 10th Sudirman Cup title with a 3-0 win in the fil on Sunday.

The hosts met some challenges in the men’s doubles match but controlled the tie throughout to achieve their sixth consecutive victory in this world mixed team badminton championship, reports Xinhua.

When Lin Dan sealed the victory with a powerful smash, Chinese players hugged and applauded, arousing thunderous cheers from a packed are at the Dongguan Sports Center here.

The Sudirman Cup, launched in 1989 as one of the most prestigious tourments in badminton, witnessed Chi take first their trophy in 1995.

In the past 20 years, only South Korea had won once - in 2003.

On Sunday afternoon, Hiroyuki Endo/Kenichi Hayakawa, the world No.6 men’s doubles pair, raised early hopes of an upset after fighting back to win the second set.

But the rest of the challenge failed to measure up as Chi’s leading duo Zhang n/Fu Haifeng iled it 21-17, 20-22, 21-17.

In all the five disciplines, men’s doubles is a relatively a weak spot for Chi.

Li Xuerui, the women’s singles champion in the 2012 London Olympics, used 42 minutes to beat Akane Yamaguchi 23-21, 21-14 in the women’s singles match and put Chi 2-0 ahead.

Then it was Lin Dan’s turn. “Super Dan” proved too strong for 25th-ranked Takuma Ueda, winning 21-15, 21-13 in the men’s singles contest to seal the title for Chi. IANS