World number one and Olympic champion An Se-young “started the fire” as South Korea toppled China to win badminton’s prestigious Uber Cup women’s world team title.
South Korea’s badminton star An Se-young in action in England. Photo by AFP |
China meanwhile beat France to lift the Thomas Cup, the men’s crown, also in the Danish city of Horsens.
South Korea won the Uber Cup for a third time with a 3-1 victory over title-holders China late on Sunday.
Top-ranked An put the Koreans on their way, dismantling world number two Wang Zhiyi 21-10, 21-13.
China levelled in the first doubles rubber through Tan Ning and Liu Shengshu, before Kim Ga-eun stunned Chen Yufei 21-19, 21-15 to put South Korea within sight of glory.
Baek Ha-na and Kim Hye-jeong fought back to defeat Jia Yifan and Zhang Shuxian 16-21, 21-10, 21-13 to seal the triumph.
“An started the fire going,” said team captain Lee So-hee, who reserved special praise for Kim Ga-eun following her surprise victory over Tokyo Olympic champion Chen.
“Ga-eun was in a tough match, but she did it, I’m very proud of her.”
Kim, the world number 17, was delighted to have played her part after being dropped from the semi-finals.
“I wasn’t in the lineup for the tie against Indonesia in the semi-finals as I hadn’t played well earlier,” she said.
“But that helped me save energy and it was also good motivation for the game.”
China, badminton’s superpower, retained their Thomas Cup crown with a 3-1 win over France.
It was France’s first Thomas Cup final, underlining the country’s rise in the sport.
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