Asian champions Korea repeated their victory over China earlier this year, by beating a much stronger Chinese side 3-1 in the final of the Uber Cup in Horsens, Denmark.
The final was a repeat of the 2022 Uber Cup final between the two East-Asian rivals. That match was decided in the final singles, but this time there was no third singles needed.
The Korean victory was partly due to the tactical acumen in the doubles and the stunning display of Kim Ga-eun in the second singles.
The victory was also Korea’s third success in the prestigious tournament, having also won in 2010. Ironically, all three Korean victory at the Uber Cup had come at the expense of the Chinese.
An Se-young had given the Koreans the start expected from the superstar. The world number one suffered one of her rare defeats in the past year, when she was beaten by Zhiyi at the All-England final.
She avenged the defeat at the Badminton Asia Championships and asserted her superiority once again at the Uber Cup, disposing of Zhiyi 21-10, 21-13 in 47-minutes. It was Se-young’s 20th career win over Zhiyi in 25 encounters.
Korea, chose to split their doubles pairs fielding Jeong Na-eun-Lee So-hee for the first doubles and strengthen their second pair by pairing off Baek Ha-na with Kim Hye-jeong in the second doubles.
The Koreans seem to have bungled with the decision with Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning pulling China level to take the first doubles against Na-eun-So-hee 21-15, 21-12 in 53-minutes.
China were heavily favoured to win the second singles, with world number four Chen Yufei taking on 17th ranked Ga-eun.
But the Korean lass, who had lost all of her last five meetings against Yufei had other ideas. She turned the tables with a stunning 21-19, 21-15 win to put the Koreans ahead of the shell-shocked Chinese side.
While Ga-eun turned the tides for the Koreans, the biggest surprise came in the second doubles.
Playing a pair for only their second time ever, Ha-na-Hye-jeong stunned their world number four ranked rivals Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian for the second time.
Having beaten the Chinese pair at the Badminton Asia Team Championships final earlier this year, they were victorious once again.
If the victory at the Asian championships was seen as an outlier, the Koreans proved rankings does not matter in team championships.
But they did not have it all that easy this time around. They lost the first game closely but clawed back with sustained attacking display to take the match 16-21, 21-10, 21-13 in an energy sapping 85-minute encounter.
They have beaten China twice this year in major team championships and will be hoping to repeat the feat at the Asian Games in Aichi–Nagoya.
FINAL RESULTS
Korea beat China 3-1 (An Se-young bt Wang Zhiyi 21-10, 21-13; Jeong Na-eun-Lee So-hee lost to Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning 15-21, 12-21; Kim Ga-eun bt Chen Yufei 21-19, 21-15; Baek Ha-na-Kim Hye-jeong bt Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian 16-21, 21-10, 21-13)
