Chinese shuttlers demonstrated yet again their supremacy as they
swept four titles at the IBF German Open on Sunday.
China claimed men's and women's singles, women's doubles and
mixed doubles titles, leaving men's doubles as the sole regret at
the Feb. 27 - Mar. 4 tournament.
Top seed Lin Dan did not sweat before winning a walkover men's
final against countryman Chen Yu, seventh ranked in the world.
Lin, who has kept hold of the world number one place for 22
weeks since September 28, 2006, notched up two titles this season
after winning the German Open and the South Korea Open in
January.
Xie Xingfang, Lin's girlfriend and women's world number one,
followed the same path after Lin, winning titles at German Open
after rallying over German's Xu Huaiwen 19-21, 21-12, 21-19 in the
final and also the South Korean Open.
In women's doubles, Olympic champions Yang Wei/Zhang Jiewen did
not seem to be firing on all cyclinders before claiming a 21-8,
21-7 victory over fellow-Chinese Du Jing/Yu Yang in the final.
Chinese pair of Zheng Bo and Gao Ling also enjoyed an easy win
over countrymen Xu Chen and Zhao Tingting 21-11, 21-10 in mixed
doubles.
In men's doubles, South Koreans swept the top two places, with
Lee Jae Jin and Hwang Ji Man claiming the title and Jung Jae Sung
and Lee Yong Dae in second place.
(Xinhua News Agency March 6, 2007)