Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying (???) clinched the women’s singles title at the Indonesia Open on Sunday, with a win against Wang Zhiyi (???) of China.
In the final, Tai defeated Wang, the winner of the 2022 Badminton Asia Championships, 21-23, 21-6, 21-15, in a match that lasted 60 minutes.
The win gave Tai her third Indonesia Open title and her second of the season, after the Thailand Open in May.
It was also a timely birthday gift for Tai, who turns 28 on Monday.
Tai, who bagged a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics last year, won her first title of the season at the Thailand Open last month, when she defeated her longstanding rival Chen Yufei (???) of China, 21-15, 17-21, 21-12, in the final.
On Saturday, the world No. 2 and second-seeded Tai again beat Chen, the Tokyo Olympics gold medalist, in the semifinals at the Indonesia Open to advance to the final against world No. 14 Wang on Sunday.
Tai, the Asian champion in 2016 and 2018, got off to a shaky start against Wang, lagging 8-14 and eventually losing the first game 21-23.
However, Tai quickly adjusted and upped the tempo, restraining her opponent’s offensive, to take a 11-0 lead, and she went on to score a comfortable 21-6 win in the second game.
Tai played more flexibly in the early part of the decider, opening a 6-1 lead, but Wang showed tenacity and worked hard to catch up. Tai eventually won the hard-fought game 21-15.
With Tai’s latest title at the Indonesia Open, she has now recorded her 24th career super series (over 500) championship.
The purse at the Super 1000 Indonesia Open totaled US$1.2 million (NT$35.71 million). The next major badminton tournament is the Malaysia Open, June 28 to July 3.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel