CHINA’S Chen Yufei was delighted to play the hero as her country ended a 12-year wait for the women’s team gold at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
The victory was especially sweet for China, who swept hosts Japan 3-0 after falling short in the final at the previous two editions, including a defeat to the Japanese at Jakarta-Palembang 2018.
Yufei also had personal reasons to celebrate after making up for the disappointment of Hangzhou 2022 by delivering the winning point at second singles with a commanding 21-10, 21-11 victory over Tomoka Miyazaki.
China had already taken a 2-0 lead at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium in Aichi yesterday after Wang Zhiyi fought back to beat Akane Yamaguchi 14-21, 21-19, 21-17.
Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning then doubled their advantage with a 21-16, 25-23 win over Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto, leaving Yufei with the chance to seal the gold.
Before stepping onto court, her coach tried to ease the pressure by telling her that Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian were ready to finish the job in the second doubles if needed.
Yufei, however, had other ideas.
“The mindset beforehand was that it would be best to finish the match in my hands, and that’s how it went.
“Before going out, my coach told me: ‘It’s fine, our second doubles pair will definitely win.’ I said: ‘No need, it will definitely be 3-0.’
“I was very happy at the end that I could be the one – the person who secured the crucial winning point.
“I felt so blessed, seeing everyone running towards me with happy faces. At that moment, it felt just like a movie in slow motion, seeing everyone’s sheer joy and excitement,” said Yufei.
The result also erased some painful memories of Hangzhou 2022, where Yufei, playing first singles, lost to An Se-young in the final against South Korea.
Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee then beat Chen Qingchen-Jia Yifan before Kim Ga-eun overcame He Bingjiao to complete South Korea’s victory.
