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Double Delight for Hong Kong's Zhou
Hong Kong's Zhou Mi won her second title in a row when she lifted the Macau Open women's singles crown over the weekend.
| The former Chinese Olympian, who won the China Masters Super Series in nearby Guangzhou the previous week, beat Malaysia's Julia Wong Pei Xian 21-13, 21-19 to seal victory and enhance her standing on the international stage.
The victory completed an exhausting but successful three weeks for Zhou, who won two titles and reached the final of one. She started her journey with a final appearance at the Japan Open, where she lost to China's Wang Yihan. The former world number one recovered the following week to win the China Masters before triumphing in Macau. She was quoted by Hong Kong's South China Morning Post as saying: "It was the biggest challenge I have ever had as it pushed my physical conditioning to the limit by playing 15 matches in three consecutive tournaments. "I have taken part in three events in a row before, but never made it to all three finals. It was a big relief when I sealed match point." Zhou arrived in Hong Kong in 2007 as part of the government's programme to attract skilled Chinese nationals in industry, management and sport to the former British colony. At the time, she was ranked outside of the world's top 100, having left the China national squad in 2005 after reaching the Olympic semi-finals in Athens a year earlier. With her two victories, she moves up to fourth in the world. "I am a bit surprised it has taken me such a short period to get back to the top rankings," said the 29-year-old Zhou. "I do not want to set any target as far as the rankings are concerned so long as I enjoy playing and have fun on court. I just take it tournament by tournament and see how far I can go." Zhou is now setting her sights on winning gold for Hong Kong at the East Asian Games in December. The event is being stage in Hong Kong - the first time the territory is hosting a big multi-sport games - and Zhou is determined to win gold. "I am very grateful to Hong Kong for giving me a second chance in badminton," she added. |
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