Nicole Gonzales Chan and Yang Chu Yun avenged their painful defeat in the Mixed Team final to Kim Min Ji and Kim Min Seon in a tough opening contest of the BWF World Junior Championships 2022.
The Chinese Taipei women’s doubles duo had led their team into the final with a pivotal win over Indonesia in the semifinals, but had faltered to Korea’s twin sisters a day later. They were better prepared on Monday. After losing a close opening game, they continued to pressure the Koreans with their hard-hitting approach, and were rewarded with a 21-23 21-17 21-15 result.
“We’d lost in the Mixed Team final, so when we started we were nervous and we lost the first game,” said Chan. “Our coach told us to change the game, and we played more aggressively; we didn’t play any soft balls like last time.
“When we lost the team final, we were very sad. We really wanted to win the first championships for Chinese Taipei, so this was revenge for us.”
China’s Xu Wen Jing Upset
Ella Lin achieved a memorable upset.
Women’s singles saw the upset of China’s third-ranked Xu Wen Jing, at the hands of USA’s No.233 Ella Lin.
Lin came away disbelieving, unable to come to terms with the fact that she had actually beaten the higher-ranked Chinese 14-21 21-12 21-18.
“I didn’t have any expectations. I felt confident as I kept winning points,” Lin said. “I’m not too sure what this means, but it feels good! It’s still sinking in!”
Highlights
♦ Among the hard-fought matches of the day was Korea’s Cho Hyeon Woo/Kim Tae Rim against Denmark’s Jonathan Melgaard/Mike Vestergaard. The Koreans prevailed in three games, 18-21 22-20 21-12.
♦ Another of Korea’s pairs that delivered at the Suhandinata Cup, Kim Byung Jae/Jeong Da Yeon, also fell in the first round, to Indonesia’s Zaidan Arrafi Nabawi/Felisha Pasaribu, 21-18 22-20.
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