Indonesia's Jonatan Christie takes Asia badminton crown; China bags three titles

Indonesia's Jonatan Christie poses on the podium after winning the men's singles final match against China's Li Shifeng at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, in eastern China's Zhejiang province on Sunday, April 14, 2024. - AFP

SHANGHAI (AFP): Indonesia's Jonatan Christie cliched the Badminton Asia Championships crown on Sunday, seeing off Li Shi Feng in two sets in China.

Christie defeated home favourite Li 21-15, 21-16 in the tournament finale in the Chinese city of Ningbo.

Earlier China's Wang Zhi Yi swatted aside compatriot Chen Yu Fei 21-19, 21-7 to claim the women's singles title.

Wang's victory came after world number one, South Korean An Se-young, was dumped out in the quarter-finals on Friday by China's He Bingjiao.

An, the top seed in Ningbo, will still be favourite to win gold at this summer's Paris Olympics but she has been struggling with a knee injury.

The men's doubles title was claimed on Sunday by Chinese pair Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who dispatched Malaysian duo Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin 21-17, 15-21, 21-10.

South Korean partners Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee took the women's doubles title by beating China's Zhang Shu Xian and Zheng Yu 23-21, 21-12.

China's third-seeded pair of Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping added the mixed doubles title by staging a come-from-behind 13-21, 21-15, 21-14 to beat world champions Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yu-jung of South Korea.

The prestigious annual tournament was the final chance for Asian players to seal a spot at the Olympics. - AFP