MALAYSIAN BADMINTON PLAYER WINS FIRST EVER KOREAN OPEN TITLE

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 18 (Bernama) -- Reigning World No.1 men's singles shuttler
Lee Chong Wei opened the new year in style by bagging the Korean Open
men's singles title after beating Denmark's Peter-Gade Christensen in straight
sets at the Olympic Fencing Stadium in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday.

In the final, Chong Wei, the top seed, outplayed the Danish veteran 21-12,
21-11 who is also the defending champion, for his first ever win in the Korean
Open Super Series title throughout his professional career.

En route to the final, Chong Wei had also registered straight set wins over
Englishman Andrew Smith (round 1), Marc Zwiebler of Germany (round 2), Boonsak
Ponsana of Thailand (quarter-final) and China's Chen Jin (semi-final).

With the title in the bag, the 27-year-old Chong Wei will head home to
defend his Malaysian Open Super Series title which starts on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, despite the absence of their top stars like Lin Dan and Bao
Chunlai, China were still a dominant force when its players clinching three
of the five titles at stake.


Wang Shixian beat unseeded South Korean Sung Ji Hyun 21-10, 25-23 to clinch
the women's singles title, top-seeded Cheng Shu-Zhao Yunlei lifted the women's
doubles title after crushing Japanese pair Mizuki Fujii-Reika Kakiiwa 21-16,
21-15 while He Hanbin-Yu Yang took the mixed doubles title, beating another
Chinese pair Tao Jiaming-Zhang Yawen 21-15, 21-16.

South Korean pair Jung Jae Sung-Lee Yong Dae, the top seeds in the
championship, prevented another Chinese victory when they edged fifth seeded Cai
Yun-Fu Haifeng 21-11, 14-21, 21-18 in three thrilling sets to send the home
crowd into a frenzy.

-- BERNAMA