LI NING CHINA OPEN Finals - LEE YONG DAE-Han-Min-Guk!

Lee Yong Dae definitely proved that he was the most outstanding and talented doubles player in years, as he returns to his hometown this week with two more trophies in his luggage after sweating on court in Shanghai for 2 hours and 32 minutes of play in only two matches. Jiang Yanjiao finally stepped back into the limelight, winning defending her China Open title in her first Super Series tournament victory of the year.

By Tarek HAFI, Badzine Correspondent. Photos: Badmintophoto (live from Shanghai)

One hour and sixteen minutes might represent something very special for Lee Yong Dae as that was the exact time he took to win each of his matches on finals day, in mixed doubles with partner Lee Hyo Jung and in men’s doubles paired with Jung Jae Sung.

Lee Yong Dae and Lee Hyo Jung (pictured) finally managed to end their losing streak against Zheng Bo and Ma Jin after five encounters since March of this year at the German Open. In the process, they also prevented the Chinese from winning their third title this year. To fully realize the catharsis, they needed to be on Chinese soil when they finally proved they are able to beat their biggest nemesis so far and retained their title in Shanghai with a 21-18, 15-21, 21-15 win. The Korean pair, whose ranking points have eroded by 3 months of inactivity and a disastrous performance last week, now seem ready to show that they deserved their Olympic gold medal.

Lee Yong Dae was back around two hours later to play his second final of the day, his men’s doubles match with his partner Jung Jae Sung facing off Malaysia’s Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong. Pointed out by the crowd to be the most entertaining match of the day, both pairs provided magnificent action. The excellent defensive skills involved in the very tense rallies led even Koo Kien Keat to name it a "world class match".

"Today, I’m very happy that I had a great match today, it can be considered a world class game, I’m very happy of our performance even if we lost," said Koo at the post-match press conference.

The Koreans and Malaysians each gave their best to win the match, which featured rallies lasting even longer than the women’s doubles. The whole crowd was thrilled as Koo and Tan returned smash after punishing smash from the Koreans. It took three games for Jung and Lee to beat the Malaysians 21-13, 19-21, 21-18 and win their second consecutive title.

"It was a fun match," said Lee Yong Dae. "Koo and Tan's defense is very good and that really got the fans going. It was very tiring and if we had lost, we would have really regretted it. Overall, it was really a fun match to play."

Lin Dan remained firm and unshaken before the formidable Dane Jan O Jorgensen. Both players have performed impressively this week: Jan beat Chen Jin, Boonsak Ponsana, and world #1 Lee Chong Wei, en route to the finals while Lin Dan did not drop a single game throughout the tournament. And it was the latter that prevailed in the end, allowing his home crowd to witness his recent excellent shape which may yet bring him back to the world number one spot, from which he has been deprived despite having been beaten only twice this year.

The new Danish sensation, tipped to be the heir to Peter Gade, should the latter retire, was simply outclassed by the Chinese star after a fantastic path through. With his impressive 21-12, 21-12 win over the new Danish hero, Lin was crowned China Open winner for the second consecutive year.

"I feel that this year, compared to other the men’s singles players on the BWF circuit, my results were not the best," Lin Dan told reporters at the post-match press conference. "This is mainly because Bao Chunlai won four competitions and I also won four and same thing for Lee Chong Wei. Everything was quite balanced. But for me, in 2009, I am very happy that I had a smooth sailing year. I am just very happy that I am performing well since my success at the Olympic Games."

In the all-Chinese women’s singles final, sixth-seeded Jiang Yanjiao emerged as the champion after beating unseeded compatriot Wang Xin in a tight battle that ended 21-19, 22-20. Jiang Yanjiao’s hard work finally paid off. Jiang long laboured under the shadow of such luminary compatriots as Xie Xingfang and Zhang Ning when she first came out on the international circuit. The young Chinese was then treated at home for an injury, forcing her to have an early exit. But just when Jiang Yanjiao was ready to prove herself, making a strong comeback with her China Open win last year she was still not treated as the heir to the then just retired Zhang Ning. Her younger teammates Wang Yihan and Wang Lin were already stepping up to snatch that mantle.

In 2009, Jiang has been bringing back excellent results home but she needed to wait for the last Super Series of the year to finally take a title this calendar year. Wang Xin, meanwhile, has been confined to even greater obscurity. One year older than Jiang, Wang burst back onto the international scene in June after a long, domestic hiatus to reach to Grand Prix Gold finals. However, despite two semi-final and two finals appearances in her last four Super Series events, she will have to wait for next year to capture a top-rung title.

Zhang Yawen retained her women’s doubles she got last year with the now retired player Zhao Tingting. Now partnering Tian Qing, the Chinese player who almost retired because of several troubling injuries after the Olympic Games, might feel relieved to not have executed her plan as the new pair pulled out a great performance over the Olympic champions Du Jing and Yu Yang to win 21-14, 21-14 and take the title in only their second tournament as a pair.

For complete results from the 2009 Li Ning China Open Super Series, CLICK HERE

3.26 Copyright (C) 2008 Compojoom.com / Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."