PETALING JAYA: Don’t write off Taiwanese shuttler Chou Tien-chen just yet.
The 33-year-old had struggled for most part of the year in the men’s singles and dropped out of the world’s top 10 but deserves credit for never giving up.
Tien-chen, ranked 13th in the world, bounced back strongly to capture his first title of the year at the Hylo Open when he came from behind to beat Hong Kong’s world No. 19 Lee Cheuk Yiu 21-23, 21-17, 21-10 in a thrilling final in Saarbrucken, Germany on Sunday.
The win was historic for Tien-chen as he became the first men’s singles player to win the tournament four times.
The 33-year-old had won the title thrice from 2012 to 2014 when the competition was known as the Bitburger Open.
Victory also tasted sweet for Tien-chen after he had narrowly lost 21-18, 11-21, 22-24 to Indonesia’s world No. 2 Anthony Ginting in the final last year.
“I really wanted to come back and make history after losing the final last year. I’m delighted that I did it,” said Tien-chen in his post-match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
In the men’s doubles, China’s world No. 8 Liu Yuchen-Ou Xuanyi also won their first title of the year after an impressive 24-22, 21-13 win over Taiwan’s reigning Olympic champions Lee Yang-Wang Chi-lin.
It was sweet revenge for Yuchen, who had lost to the Taiwanese pair in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics final along with former partner Li Junhui.
Yuchen-Xuanyi were also relieved to end their title drought after spending most of the year in the shadows of world No. 1 teammates Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang.
“We really wanted a title to boost our confidence and now we’ve did it,” said Yuchen.
“We will keep this spirit and go for more titles and strive to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.”
FINAL RESULTS
Men’s singles: Chou Tien-chen (Tpe) bt Lee Cheuk Yiu (Hkg) 21-23, 21-17, 21-10.
Men’s doubles: Liu Yuchen-Ou Xuanyi (Chn) bt Lee Yang-Wang Chi-lin (Tpe) 24-22, 21-13.
Women’s singles: Zhang Beiwen (US) bt Line Kjaersfeldt (Den) 21-18, 16-21, 21-16.
Women’s doubles: Zhang Shuxian-Zheng Yu (Chn) bt Apriyani Rahayu-Siti Fadia Ramadhanti (Ina) 18-21, 1-1, rtd.
Mixed doubles: Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet (Hkg) bt Rehan Naufal-Lisa Ayu (Ina) 15-21, 21-15, 21-14.
