PARIS (Xinhua): China only claimed two titles, including Shi Yuqi's maiden world singles trophy, as the 2025 BWF World Championships concluded here on Sunday.
China was hoping for a stupendous outing at the World Championships as they had a title contender in all the finals played in the tournament. But only two titles came from the men's singles and women's doubles event.
In a grueling three-game men's final, Shi rallied past Thailand's defending champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn 19-21, 21-10, 21-18.
Coming back from 8-3 down, the Chinese forced Kunlavut's return to go out of bounds to take his long-awaited first major title.
"Every match at this World Championships was tough. In the final, I gave it 120 percent - I adopted a very positive mindset, focusing solely on winning, and not dwelling on the possibility of losing. It paid off with my first world championships gold medal," Shi said after the match.
In the women's doubles final, Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning of China and Malaysia's Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan showcased high-quality offense and defence in a highly competitive match, before Liu and Tan prevailed 21-14, 20-22, 21-17 to clinch their first-ever world championships title.
"We both wanted this title so much. It ultimately came down to willpower. We prepared intensively for this event, and the win validates all our hard work," commented Liu.
In the women's singles title contention, China's Chen Yufei was affected by her ankle injury sustained in the semifinals, losing to Japan's Akane Yamaguchi 21-9, 21-13. Yamaguchi dominated with aggressive play and precision for her third world singles title after victories in 2021 and 2022.
Top-seeded pair Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae of South Korea defeated China's world championships debutants Chen Boyang and Liu Yi in straight games, 21-17, 21-12, to claim the men's doubles gold medal.
In the mixed doubles, China's Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin fell 21-15, 21-14 to Malaysia's Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei, whose victory marked Malaysia's first-ever world championships gold in the event. - Xinhua
