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Lee tops Tian for 3rd consecutive HK title
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Former world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei cemented his strong comeback to the badminton circuit, taking his third consecutive Super Series title at the Hong Kong Open yesterday.
The Malaysian beat Chinese world No. 10 Tian Houwei 21-16, 21-15 to take the crown after a marathon final rally.
鈥淭oday Tian played very well. He played a good defense because I just attacked,鈥 said Lee.
Lee is on a winning streak after taking back-to-back titles in China and France in a strong return from an eight-month doping ban earlier this year.
His recent performances have silenced critics who questioned whether the 33-year-old 鈥 a prominent fixture on the badminton circuit for nearly a decade 鈥 was past his peak. He has his sights firmly set on next year鈥檚 Olympics and on finally clinching a gold.
Lee has two silver medals 鈥 from London and Beijing 鈥 where on both occasions he was beaten to the top podium position by arch-rival Lin Dan of China.
鈥淣ow I (will) just concentrate on qualifying for the Olympics, and I want to get (to) the top four in the world,鈥 said Lee, who finally returned to the top ten at the end of October after dropping out of the rankings. He is now ranked sixth.
In the women鈥檚 competition, two-time world champion Carolina Marin of Spain took her sixth title of the year, beating Japan鈥檚 Nozomi Okuhara in a tightly fought marathon three games.
The epic 84-minute final 鈥 the longest match in the women鈥檚 competition at the tournament 鈥 saw the world No. 1 lose five match points before finally taking the crown 21-17, 18-21, 22-20.
After steaming through the first game, Marin was seven points down in the second. The Spaniard looked on course for victory early on in the third until her Japanese rival had a late surge. 鈥淚 think it was a tough match. She had a good comeback at the end of the game but I tried to just keep myself down and think positive things that I can beat her,鈥 said Marin.
Marin has had a strong year, defending her world championship title in August and shooting up the rankings from No. 8 to No. 1.
Okuhara took her first title at a Super Series tournament on home ground in September, beating compatriot Akane Yamaguchi in a the final.
The 20-year-old had previously beaten Marin, in last year鈥檚 semifinals, but she then fell to Chinese Taipei鈥檚 Tai Tzu-ying in the final. 鈥淚 could not win but I have confidence because I still managed to catch up (in the third game) with Marin, who is the world No. 1,鈥 said Okuhara.
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