Momota, Marin claim China Open singles titles
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E-mail Xinhua, September 23, 2019
World No. 1 Kento Momota of Japan and Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain claimed the men's and women's singles titles respectively at the 2019 Badminton China Open on Sunday.
Top seed Momota fought 91 minutes to oust Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia 19-21, 21-17, 21-19.
"I was under great pressure during the match because I knew I had to take the game," said Momota, who won nine times in their previous twelve competitions but lost last year's final right here in Changzhou.
"It was a close game and I was lucky today," said the two-time and reigning world champion Momota.
The 25-year-old spoke highly of his rival Ginting, with whom he changed jerseys after the match, saying "It will be hard for me to beat him next time if I can't build up a huge lead in the game".
Another final saw Marin defeat Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei to win the women's singles title.
Second seed Tai took the first set 21-14 with ease, but Marin made a strong comeback to win the following two 21-17, 21-18.
"I think I've improved a lot during this week. It's unbelievable that I can win the second tournament after coming back. But I did it. I feel really really happy," said Marin, who just returned from injury this month.
She described the recovery as a "very tough journey", saying "It was a long one and I had to be out of the tournament for 7 months. I missed a lot (of things). I was preparing for everything".
In the mixed doubles, top seed Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong of China defeated compatriot Wang Yilyu/Huang Dongping 21-17, 13-21, 21-16 to take the title.
"We won the game, but we didn't perform that well as we made many errors," commented Zheng.
"We need to stay healthy. No one can win easily and we should go step by step," said Zheng when asked about the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, as he and his partner are thought to be the biggest hope to top the podium for Chinese badminton team.
Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan won the other gold medal for China in the women's doubles final after beating second seeded Misaki Matsutomo/Ayaka Takahashi from Japan 21-14, 21-18.
Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo of Indonesia lived up to their top seeding, winning the men's doubles gold after a 21-18, 17-21, 21-15 victory over compatriots Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan.
With the China Open being concluded, the BWF World Tour now moves on to Incheon, for the Korea Open which begins on Sept. 24.
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