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Dominant China Romp to Uber Cup Victory
Before the Uber Cup began, coaches were saying China were unbeatable. The Chinese women let their rackets do the talking as they lived up to their billing as overwhelming favourites.
| China won their sixth straight Uber Cup women's team title with a convincing 3-0 victory over hosts Indonesia in the final. The Indonesian fans in Jakarta were hoping for an upset after their men had been ousted in the Thomas Cup semi-finals by South Korea. But China were in no mood to offer any concessions as they sent out an ominous warning to their rivals ahead of the Olympic Games in Beijing this summer. It was Indonesia's first final in 10 and even President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was there to support the team. However, world number one Xie Xingfang gave the crowd an early signal that this was not going to be their day with a 21-8, 21-15 victory over hosts' leading player Maria Kristin. The world's top doubles team Yang Wei and Zhang Jiewen then gave China a 2-0 overall lead, having to dig deep to beat Indonesia's Lilyana Natsir and Vita Marissa 21-15, 19-21, 21-16 in a match that had the crowd on their feet. Lu Lan then sealed victory for the Chinese with an easy 21-12, 21-10 victory over Adriyanti Firdasari. It was China's 11th Uber Cup success in 13 appearances. Xie admitted she found it difficult to concentrate with the crowd giving thunderous support to Kristin. However, her experience and skills helped her emerge victorious. "In the first few matches I struggled with the crowd, and it has been my first time playing as the opening singles and there was a lot of pressure, but I was prepared mentally and it all came together," she said. "Winning a team competition like this is very good in boosting morale ahead of the Olympics. We have a good very team spirit and very good support from the people behind the team as well." National coach Li Yongbo said this year's victory provided more satisfaction than the last five because other teams provided stronger opposition. "It was much easier to win the last five," he said. "But the standard of badminton around the world has risen and this was the toughest of them all, which makes it all the better to win. It is always more pleasing to win against stronger competition." China dominated the weekend in Jakarta with their men's team winning the Thomas Cup, 3-1 over South Korea. |
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