Tianjin: The 19-year-old Chen Yufei stunned former World No. 1 women’s singles player Wang Shixian in straight-sets to win her maiden China National Games title on Thursday.
Although Chen Yufei of Zhejiang team was not the favorite to win the title since day one, but Wang Shixian who played for Jiangsu team was also no longer has an obvious advantage. Chen had continuously maintained 1 or 2 points lead throughout the match, and kept enough pressure to rule out a Wang Shixian comeback to finish the match 21-18, 21-17.
Wang who failed to give her career the great finish was disappointed after her loss.
“I’ve prepared for the National Games for 1 year, I’ve tried my best. It’s one thing in my career that I definitely regret, hopefully the young players can get better quickly,” said Wang.
In mixed doubles final, the match between World No. 1 Chen Qingchen/Zheng Siwei and World No. 2 Lu Kai/Huang Yaqiong was a nail-biter, with Chen/Zheng coming from 23-23, unleashing fierce attacks to prevail 25-23 in the first set.
Chen/Zheng were more confident in the second set, as they saw off a spirited challenge from Lu/Huang to take the game 21-17.
The afternoon session saw another upset as Rio Olympic men’s doubles pair Zhang Nan/Fu Haifeng was also stunned by Wang Sijie/Zheng Siwei of Zhejiang team.
The men’s singles final between Lin Dan and Shi Yuqi will be held on Friday.
