BIRMINGHAM, England, 4 August 2003 — Fifth seed Xia Xuanze of China, a bronze medalist at the Sydney Olympics, won the world badminton title yesterday, battling past Wong Choong Hann of Malaysia 15-6, 13-15, 15-6.
In a thrilling 80-minute final, Xia seemed to be in charge when leading 12-9 in the second set, but ninth-seed Wong fought back bravely to level at 13-13 and then tie the match at 1-1.
It was nip and tuck in the decider until 6-6, but Xia slowly gained control to clinch the title on his second match point.
The two men have met eight times in their careers, with the Chinese player having won all eight. Highly-rated compatriots Hafiz Hashim and Roslin Hashim, who are brothers, had met in the second round by a quirk of the tournament draw. Roslin won, only to bow out in the quarterfinals.
Earlier, women’s singles titleholder Gong Ruina was deposed 11-6, 11-3 in the final by Chinese compatriot Zhang Ning.
Gong led 4-0 in the first game but once Zhang found her stride she was generally in control, rounding off a fine week in which her other scalps have included the 1999 world champion Camilla Martin of Denmark. Seeded second ahead of Gong at four, Zhang, a comparative veteran at 28, was competing in her sixth world championships. China landed three titles on the day, the women’s doubles going to defending champions Gao Ling and Huang Sui who beat compatriots Wei Yili and Zhao Tingting 15-8, 15-11.
