Chinese shuttlers Chen and Jia crowned in Asiad women's doubles

JAKARTA - Chinese badminton duo of Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan claimed the women's doubles gold medal at the 18th Asian Games here on Monday.

Chen and Jia overcame Olympic champions Misaki Matsutomo/Ayaka Takahashi of Japan 22-20, 22-20 in an hour.

Chen and Jia built a 11-10 lead at the changeover through a slew of errors by their opponents, while finding themselves troubled at 20-17 down late in the opening game.

But the resilient Chinese pair savored five points in a row to move through the game 22-20.

Chen/Jia built a 4-0 lead into the second game, before seeing their advantage erased by four straight points from Matsutomo and Takahashi.

The Chinese pair still took an upper hand and smashed precisely for their points. Back-and-forth competition continued, while Chen and Jia managed to lead 11-10 at the interval.

At 14-17 down, Chen and Jia made a strong comeback after winning five straight points, and secured a 22-20 win on Chen's powerful smash.

China reclaimed the gold of the event after four years as Indonesian Nitya Krishinda Maheswari and Greysia Polii won it at the 2014 Incheon Asiad.