The Korea Herald

피터빈트

S. Korean duo defends men's doubles title at Korea Open badminton

By 고영아

Published : Jan. 30, 2011 - 21:30

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The South Korean men's doubles badminton team of Lee Yong-dae and Jung Jae-sung defended their Korea Open title on Sunday.

Lee and Jung defeated Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen of Denmark in straight sets in a matter of just 33 minutes. The South Koreans took home US$94,800 with the victory.

After easily taking the first set 21-6, Lee and Jung fell behind 8-5 in the second set. But they pulled even at 9-9, with a combination of Danes' unforced errors and Jung's winners.

Leading 12-10, the South Koreans won six unanswered points and closed out the match with two straight points.

The Korea Open is one of five Premier Super Series events hosted by the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the global governing body of the sport. It runs a 12-leg Super Series, and the Korea Open, Indonesia Open, Denmark Open, All-England and China
Open have the 'Premier' status.

The Korea Open is also the most lucrative badminton tournament ever, with $1.2 million in total purse. Men's and women's singles champions get $90,000 each, while men's, women's and mixed doubles winners earn $94,800 each.

Lee and Jung were the only local champions. Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli of China won the women's doubles title over their compatriots Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei.

It was also all-Chinese in the women's singles final, where Wang Yihan beat Wang Shixian in straight sets.

The mixed doubles final was another Chinese affair, and Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei defeated Tao Jiaming and Ting Qing in three sets.

In a rematch of the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games men's singles final, Lin Dan of China once again topped Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in three sets. Back at the Asiad, Lin beat Lee for the gold medaland the Chinese athlete went on to win the most valuable player honors of the entire Asian Games.

China swept up four of five titles up for grabs at this tournament. (Yonhap News)