SINGAPORE, 25 August 2003 — Top seed Chen Hong of China captured his second successive title at the Singapore Open badminton tournament yesterday, needing just over an hour to beat unseeded compatriot Chen Yu 11-15, 15-8, 15-4.
In the women’s final, top seed Zhang Ning outsmashed defending champion Zhou Mi in another all-Chinese final. Zhang won 11-0, 11-8 for her first ever victory over Zhou in nine meetings in international events.
“I am playing at my best this year. We keep playing each other all the time so it was a big surprise for me how easy the final was today. But I am sure it will not be so easy when we meet the next time round,” Zhang said.
The men’s final began as normal for world No. 1 Chen Hong as he kept his opponent off balance. But Chen Yu took full advantage of some over-confident play by the top seed and kept level until 11-11 before breaking away to take the game at 15-11.
Chen Hong immediately upped the tempo and was never in trouble again for the remainder of the match. He led 8-1 and 13-4 before closing out the second game at 15-8 and taking the final into a tie-breaker.
Once again, Chen Hong refused to give Chen Yu a chance as he rattled up a 11-1 lead, mixing powerful smashes with some clever net play. The title was his at 15-4, with the match lasting an hour and two minutes.
“I always practice with Chen Yu so we know each other’s game very well. He attacked more in the first game and also I was a bit overconfident about beating him. But after the first game, I knew I had to increase the pace and it worked as I gave very few chances to attack,” said the world No. 1 after the final.
Chen Yu was quick to admit the difference between himself and Chen Hong. “He is ranked No. 1 and I am only 26th. So I had to make sure it was not a one-sided final. I could only play as well as he let me. I am quite happy at taking at least one game off him. After that I knew he would not give me many chances. It is tough playing against him because he knows my weaknesses so well,” said Chen Yu, who playing his first final in a grand prix event.
Chen Yu’s previous best was a semifinal appearance at the All England championships in March. Chen Hong was $13,600 richer following the final, while Chen Yu had to remain content with the runner-up prize of $6,800.
The women’s final, by contrast, turned out to be a tame affair as top seed Zhang Ning raced away with the opening game against Zhou Mi without conceding a point.
The second game saw a better contest as Zhou kept fighting but she would never pull ahead. Zhang led 10-4 before closing out the match at 11-0, 11-8. Zhang collected a purse of $11,730 while Zhou received $6,610 for her efforts. “Zhang was too quick for me in the opening game. She did slow down a bit in the second but I still could not keep pace with her,” Zhou Mi said.
