China claims 7th Sudirman Cup title -- china.org.cn

China's Lin Dan competes with Park Sung Hwan of South Korea during the men's singles match of the final at the 2009 Sudirman Cup World Team Badminton Championships in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, on May 17, 2009. Lin won the match 2-0. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

China's Lin Dan competes with Park Sung Hwan of South Korea during the men's singles match of the final at the 2009 Sudirman Cup World Team Badminton Championships in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, on May 17, 2009. Lin won the match 2-0. [Xinhua/Li Gang]

China lived up to the media hype to win the Sudirman Cup world mixed team badminton championship in Guangzhou City on Sunday when it beat South Korea 3-0 in the final.

The powerful Chinese team didn't drop a single match in the week-long tournament en route to claiming its seventh Sudirman Cup trophy.

The South Koreans fielded Lee Yong-Dae and Lee Hyo-Jung, the Beijing Olympic gold medallists in the mixed doubles in high hopes of winning the opening rubber.

But the newly-formed Chinese pair, Zheng Bo and

Yu Yang, inspired by the vociferous home fans, came from one set down to win 18-21, 21-19 and 21-16 and put China 1-0 ahead.

"I didn't know I would pair up Yu until this morning," said Zheng. "We did not play together too much before and had to depend mostly on individual experiences."

Members China's national badminton team pose for a photo at the awarding ceremony of the 2009 Sudirman Cup World Team Badminton Championships in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, on May 17, 2009. China got the 2009 Sudirman Cup after beating South Korea 3-0 in the final on Sunday. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

Members China's national badminton team pose for a photo at the awarding ceremony of the 2009 Sudirman Cup World Team Badminton Championships in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, on May 17, 2009. China got the 2009 Sudirman Cup after beating South Korea 3-0 in the final on Sunday. [Xinhua/Li Gang]

Olympic champion Lin Dan enlarged China's advantage to 2-0 by dispatching Park Sung-Hwan 21-14, 21-18.

"Park is South Korea's best player and one of the best players of the world. I'm very happy to beat him," said Lin, one of the most popular sports star in China.

Park has only recently returned from national service in South Korea. "I thought I would fully recover before the world championships in August,"

he said.

China secured the trophy after Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng overcame Jung Jae-Sung and Lee Yong-Dae 21-14, 17-21, 21-19 in the men's doubles.

Chinese head coach Li Yongbo expressed his gratitude to home fans for their unrelenting support.

"We have a great team and great fans," said Li.

"And all our players and coaches made good preparations to defend the title and to keep Sudirman Cup in China."

(Xinhua News Agency May 18, 2009)