World University Badminton Championship

Chinese Taipei Wins Three Golds Overall in Men’s Doubles, Mixed Doubles and Men’s Singles

[Victor] Chinese Taipei sent three winning combinations into the 2010 World University Badminton Championship finals on September 12, including Lee Sheng Mu and Fang Chieh Min in the men’s doubles, Chen Hung Ling and Hsieh Pei Chen in the mixed doubles and Hsueh Hsuan-yi in the men’s singles, and none returned empty-handed, winning three gold medals in the team and individual championships. In all, players from Chinese Taipei won three golds and one silver this year, entering Chinese Taipei into the World University Badminton Championship hall of fame.

Chen Hung Ling and his mixed doubles partner Hsieh Pei Chen

Chinese Taipei player Chen Hung Ling partnered with Hsieh Pei Chen in the mixed doubles, despite suffering from an aggravated injury in the right thigh from frequent prior competitions, and went through to win the mixed doubles title in spite of the unpromising outlook. In the championship match, the two players went head to head against formidable Chinese opponents Cheng Su and Huang Haitao; to deal with their opponents’ stronger back-of-court smash attacks, Chen and Hsieh devised a push shot strategy to reduce their opponents’ opportunities for smash shots and looked for gaps in which to attack. This strategy succeeded in greatly reducing the power of the Cheng / Huang attack, with poor forecourt performance and confusion across the whole court; while Chen and Hsieh worked closely together. Hsieh Pei Chen took the forecourt and short attack, while Chen Hung Ling took care of the smashes and guarded the rear court; finally, in an increasing display of performance, they crushed their opponents 21-11, 21-9 to snatch this year’s mixed doubles title. Of winning the first international championship of her career, Hsieh Pei Chen said, “Our proper attack strategy in this championship was the crucial point in winning. I was delighted to partner with Chen Hung Ling; I hope I can continue to keep up such good performance in the future. I am very happy to have won a gold medal for Chinese Taipei.”

men’s doubles team Lee Sheng Mu / Fang Chieh Min

The Chinese Taipei men’s doubles team Lee Sheng Mu / Fang Chieh Min went head to head in the finals with Thai men’s doubles team Bodin Isara / Maneepong Jongjit, whom they had already beaten in this year’s Taiwan Open. The two teams crossed swords once more in a great display of smashes. Both team attacked with a series of smashes, delighting the spectators. Taiwanese team Lee and Fang resisted their opponents’ attacks; no matter how hard the opposition attacked, Lee and Fang found a way to smash a counterattack back across the court; Lee Sheng Mu even scored a point returning a shot from lying on the floor. This fantastic play not only won the acclaim of the crowd, but also wore down their opponents’ confidence in their attack and boosted their own morale. Although their opponents never gave up, drawing even in the second game, Lee and Fang never let them get ahead again, maintaining the lead in the deciding game, never letting their opponents overstep their boundaries. Finally, Lee and Fang thrashed their opponents 21-16, 19-21, 21-15-19, winning another gold medal for Chinese Taipei. Fang Chieh Min, who had caught a cold and was feeling out of sorts before the competition, said, “My responses were slowed by this cold, and my strength was affected, but we won a gold medal thanks to Sheng Mu’s outstanding performance; I am grateful to him for helping me out.”

Hsueh Hsuan-Yi was Chinese Taipei’s only men’s singles entrant

Chinese Taipei’s only men’s singles entrant was Hsueh Hsuan-Yi, who faced Indonesia’s Tommy Sugiarto in the final. Before the competition, Hsueh injured his right middle finger; he must have suffered from the pressure of the racquet in each attack throughout the entire competition. However, Hsueh injured finger clearly did not stifle his ambition for victory; even though he lost his first game, he revised his attack strategy in the second game, attacking his opponent’s weaker forecourt skills with great success, leveling the score with a 21-16 win. In the final deciding game, Hsueh fell back 0-7, but eventually threw caution to the wind, despite his pain, and unleashed short attacks from the forecourt and smashes from the back, shaking his opponent’s confidence with his violent desire for victory. Hsuehi finally achieved his impossible mission, turning the tables with 21-14 and winning this year’s men’s singles title. After the match, Hsueh Hsuan-Yi could not conceal his excitement, saying again and again, “This is all thanks to the Lord, who enabled me to press on and not give up on the competition; finally, I have to say that winning the competition feels very good indeed.”

The winning of three golds and one silver by Chinese Taipei breaks the former record of two golds, won by Turkey and Poland. The performance and strong line up was matched evenly by formidable opponent China; surely the confidence of the whole team has been boosted in this competition. We look forward to the Asian Games in Guangzhou at the end of the year; the Chinese Taipei team can again achieve good success and bring glory to Taiwan.