SKorea wins Uber Cup for 1st time

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-05-16 09:56

South Korea's players celebrate with the trophy after winning the Uber Cup badminton championship in Kuala Lumpur May 15, 2010. [Agencies]

KUALA LUMPUR - South Korean women shuttlers clinched their first ever Uber Cup team title here Saturday by dethroning reigning champion China 3-1 in a supreme final.

It was the first time that South Korea had won in their six clashes with China in the finals of the women's badminton team championships.

"This is a historic day for Korean badminton. We reached the finals five times before and we were beaten in all five by China. But today it was a different story, we were not the second fiddle.

"We've had enough of losing to the Chinese. The players were determined to break the jinx and we did it in Kuala Lumpur," said South Korea's head coach Kim Jong Soo.

Bae Seung Hee gained a morale-boosting opening point for the South Koreans by beating China's world No. 1 Wang Yihan in straight sets 23-21, 21-11 in the first singles match before Lee Hyo Jung/Kim Min Jung lifted the team to a 2-0 lead with a tough win against Ma Jin/Wang Xiaoli, the leading doubles in the world, in more than one hour, 18-21, 21-12, 21-15.

"I have met Wang Yihan twice before and lost both the matches," said a delighted Bae. "She made some crucial mistakes and I took advantage of those. As the match progressed, I became more and more confident."

She added that playing in a major event like the Uber Cup, winning the first singles is important in a team event.

"I was able to overcome the pressure earlier than Wang," Bae told a news conference.

China's fourth Uber Cup debutant Wang Xin kept China's hope alive when she outdid Korean youngster Sung Ji Hyun 21-14 16-21 21-7.

However, it was the South Korean team that were determined enough to make a historic record here. Lee Kyung Won/Ha Jung Eun clinched the winning point for South Korea when they came from behind to topple the China's Olympic champions Du Jing/Yu Yang 19-21, 21-14, 21-19.

"Our team did not play well today although I had confidently predicted that we will retain the Cup," said China's head coach Li Yongbo. "However, confidence alone which was based on our past matches in the group stage, quarterfinals and the semifinals, cannot win title."

"However, we will be back for the Uber Cup. We want to take the Cup back in two years time. The young players who froze today will be much stronger and more experienced to face such a crowd," he said. "Anyway, I wish to congratulate the South Koreans for their splendid win. They deserved to lift the Cup. They were the better team."