NEW DELHI, Jan 22 – China’s Shi Yu Qi was crowned the men’s singles champion at the India Open in New Delhi on Sunday.
He defeated Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong 23-21, 21-17 in the final which lasted 54 minutes, to clinch the title and the prize purse.
Yu Qi, who finished runner-up to Denmark’s Anders Antonsen in last weekend’s Malaysia Open, said there were many challenging moments and difficulties during the match, but the unwavering support of his team helped in his victory.
“I exhibited patience, ultimately outscoring Lee,” the winner said.
In the women’s singles final, Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan trounced Olympic gold medallist Chen Yu Fei of China 21-16, 21-12 in 42 minutes.
“I was feeling a bit nervous, (but) I got a lot of support from the fans, which made me play well in today’s match,” she said.
There was disappointment for the home crowd as India’s Chirag Shetty-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy lost to world champions Kang Min Hyuk-Seo Seung Jae of South Korea in the men’s doubles final.
The Indian duo went down 15-21, 21-11, 21-18 in an hour and five minutes to finish runner-up in the BWF Super 750 badminton tournament organised by the Badminton Association of India.
Japan’s Mayu Matsumoto-Wakana Nagahara were crowned women’s doubles champions after defeating Zhang Shu Xian-Zheng Yu of China 21-12, 21-13.
Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai won the mixed doubles title with a 21-16, 21-16 victory over world number five Chinese combination of Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin.
