Mainland China stars dominate Hong Kong Open, Wang Zhiyi and Li Shifeng triumph
All five Hong Kong titles go to mainland as Wang and Li begin to atone for recent Badminton World Championships disappointments
Wang Zhiyi and an underwhelmed Li Shifeng were crowned Li-Ning Hong Kong Open singles champions as dominant mainland China completed a clean sweep of honours on Sunday.
In front of an uproarious Coliseum audience, Wang got the ball rolling with a 21-14, 24-22 victory over compatriot Han Yue.
Wang, who partially atoned for her shock last-16 exit at the recent World Championships in Paris, said winning in the city for the first time was “so exciting”.
On his competition debut, Li overcame India’s Lakshya Sen 21-15, 21-12 to complete a red-letter day for Chinese badminton and joined Wang in claiming a US$37,500 first-prize bounty.
The 25-year-old suffered his own heartache in the French capital with a first-round loss, and he was keen to play down his Hong Kong achievement.
“My form, mentality and conditioning weren’t particularly good, and my training wasn’t very systematic,” Li said. “I came here to push myself ... I lost at the World Championships, and I’m not feeling good.”