PETALING JAYA: China’s Weng Hongyang (pic) showed signs of rediscovering his best form by capturing the men’s singles title in the Swiss Open.
World No. 17 Hongyang, who was once called the next Lin Dan, has struggled to consistently live up to the billing but showed signs of his ability when he defeated world No. 31 Frenchman Christo Popov 21-18, 21-3 in the final in Basel on Sunday.
The 25-year-old was in control throughout the match and came away with the win in 47 minutes.
It was Hongyang’s first title since winning the China Open last September.
“The detailed analysis of my performances over the last several months has paid off,” said Hongyang in a post match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
“I’ve gained new knowledge and skills in recent tournaments, which helped me become a champion again.”
It was relief for China after Popov stunned Hongyang’s teammate and world No. 6 Li Shifeng in the last four a day earlier.
Meanwhile, China also grabbed three more titles through Chen Yufei (women’s singles), Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian (women’s doubles) and Feng Yanzhe-Wei Yaxin (mixed doubles).
Yufei defeated Denmark’s Line Kjaersfeldt 21-17, 21-17 to win her first title since making her competitive return last month following a five-month break.
It was joy for both Yifan-Shuxian and Yanzhe-Yaxin as well when they claimed their maiden crowns together.
In the men’s doubles, it was also a first title for Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Kittinupong Kedren after the duo fought hard to beat Indonesia’s Shohibul Fikri-Daniel Marthin 21-15, 18-21, 21-14.
Dechapol was thrilled to gain revenge over the Indonesians after losing to them in the Thailand Masters semi-finals last month.
“It was a difficult match, we lost to this pair before. But we learned from our defeat and played more to our strengths this time,” said Dechapol.
