Badminton: China Open Championship-Local shuttlers back more experienced |25 November 2005

“While it is good to play against the best and gather much-needed experience, it is also good to see them play against each other in tension-filled matches,” she added.

Inside the Tianhe Gym in Guangzhou, Ah-Wan and male number one Georgie Cupidon did play with the best in the singles and mixed doubles events of the six-star championship with a total prize money of US$250,000 on offer.

In the men’s singles, Cupidon spent 17 minutes on the court against Chinese Chen Hong, the eventual gold medallist. Cupidon lost 0-2 (1-15 1-15).

In the final, China's Chen Hong beat his compatriot Bao Chunlai 2-1 (15-12 8-15 15-9).
Last year’s winner 28-year-old Wong Choong Hann’s hopes of winning his second China Open men’s singles title were dashed by teenager Chen Jin of China in the quarterfinals. The 2002 champion and runner-up in 2003 went down 0-2 (13-15 13-15) to the 19-year-old world junior champion.

In the ladies’ singles, Ah-Wan lost 0-2 (1-11 1-11) to a Chinese.
China's Zhang Ning met her compatriot Xie Xingfang in the women’s singles final. Twenty-nine-year-old Zhang came from a set down to win the match 2-1 (4-11 11-4 11-8) against the younger Xingfang.

Seychelles’ two best shuttlers joined forces in the mixed doubles to safely negotiate their way past a mixed Egyptian and Jamaican pair on a 2-0 score in the first round. They then bowed out of the competition after losing 0-2 (16-17 8-15) to a Russian pair duo.

Ranked world number five, Olympic silver medalists Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms of England beat second seeds Lee Jae-jin and Lee Hyo-jung of South Korea 2-0 (15-10 15-10) to take the mixed doubles title.

G. G.