The Badminton Asia Championships 2013 came to a perfect end in front of over 8000 spectators at the Taipei Dome. The ROK took away the men’s doubles and mixed doubles titles; new team captain Ko Sung Hyun showed his class by bagging two golds with his doubles partners.

 

Lee Yong Dae/ Ko Sung Hyun

 

The final of the men’s doubles was an all-ROK affair, Ko Sung Hyun/Lee Yong Dae up against younger pair Kim Ki Jung/Kim Sa Rang. Before the match, Lee confessed to being a bit nervous, saying that their final opponents were the pair they least wanted to come up against because they aren’t too familiar with how they play, and they are also teammates. In the match Kim Ki Jung was clearly out of sorts in the first game and his attack and defensive play was well below par, leaving the other Kim to try to hold up the fort. Ko/Lee showed no mercy as they focused their attacks on Kim Ki Jung and opened up a lead, taking the first game 21-13. In the second game Kim Ki Jung found his feet and the game became a tit-for-tat affair, the scores staying close, however, Ko/Lee were able to take the deciding game 22-20 to take the match. 

 

Lee Yong Dae/ Ko Sung Hyun

 

After the match, Lee said that he really likes playing in Taipei because the fans cheer him on and he was very happy to have won the title. Ko said that he always is in good condition when he plays in Taipei, he doesn’t have trouble adjusting to the food and, overall, he feels good, which helps him play well.

 

Ko Sung Hyun/ Kim Ha Na

 

In the mixed doubles final a bit later, Ko Sung Hyun/Kim Ha Na were up against China’s Zhang Nan/Zhao Yun Lei. Even the ROK coach felt his players were the underdogs. Before the match Ko joked that he uses mixed doubles to relax his body and mind and that playing such a strong pair was a good chance to learn so it didn’t matter much if they lost. In fact, Ko/Kim put their opponents under pressure from the start, with Ko attacking from the rear of the court and Kim blocking at the net, they had Zhang/Zhao at a loss and took the match 22-20, 21-17.   

 

Ko Sung Hyun/ Kim Ha Na

 

After the match their coach said that Ko plays very well in mixed doubles matches and the reason may be that he doesn’t feel under pressure to win so is relaxed which helps him play well. Kim Ha Na said she was really surprised to win the title. She said that because Ko was in such good form all she had to do was take care of the net, and they played together very smoothly. Ko joked that Kim played well and all his attacking chances were made by her, all he had to do smash.

 

As for other disciplines, in the men’s singles, Du Peng Yu beat the injured Chen Long to take his first major title. In the women’s singles final, Wang Yi Han beat her teammate Li Xue Rui to get her revenge for her Olympic final loss. In the women’s doubles, Yu Yang/Wang Xiao Li overcome Ma Jin/Tang Jin Hua after a close-fought three game match.

 

( Edit by VICTOR Badminton )