Indonesia's Taufik Hidayat put on a sparkling display of attacking badminton to capture his second Singapore Open title with a 15-9, 15-3 victory over China's Chen Hong in Singapore, on Sunday.
Despite Chen's defeat, China enjoyed a successful finals day at the penultimate event before August's world championships, taking three of the five titles on offer. Indonesia won the other two.
Building on a stirring semi-final victory over world number one Lin Dan, the eighth-seeded Olympic champion bullied Chen into submission after a tentative opening to the contest that was highlighted by delicate drop shots at the net.
Rewarded for adopting the more aggressive approach, the 23-year-old Indonesian surged into an 8-1 lead that the defensive Chen could never peg back.
Roared on by a crowd of more than 8,000, Hidayat reeled off 14 straight points in the second game to add to the title he won in 2001 as Chen was unable to cope with the Indonesian, either at the net or from the back of the court.
"We have met many times before and he has only beaten me once, I was confident I could beat him," Hidayat said.
"I still feel I can improve for the world championships, that is my target."
In the women's singles, defending champion and world number two Zhang Ning battled past Chinese compatriot Zhou Mi 11-5, 11-7 to secure her fourth title in five years.
In a repeat of last year's final, the 30-year-old Olympic and world champion took control of the opening game using a variety of shots from the back of the court to forge a 6-1 lead.
However, Zhou battled her way back into the contest with a string of four straight points before Zhang pulled clear with a series of smashes, eventually sealing the game after forcing her opponent into an error at the end of a long rally.
SIMILAR PATTERN
The second game followed a similar pattern as Zhang cruised into a 7-2 lead before the eighth-seeded Zhou found her rhythm to rally for five straight points.
Zhang regained both her composure and range with the smash to reel off the remaining four points and seal victory.
"I started well but got a little tired in the second game and that let my opponent back into the contest," Zhang admitted.
"But I prepared well for the match and I always enjoy playing here."
In mixed doubles, Olympic gold medallists and second seeds Zhang Jun and Gao Ling rallied from a game behind to overcome Thai pair Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thungthongkam 10-15, 15-7, 15-5.
The sixth seeds, winners of this year's Japan Open, controlled the first game and looked on course for an upset victory, but the Chinese pair proved too strong as the contest wore on.
In the all-Chinese women's doubles final, seventh-seeded Zhang Dan and Zhang Yawen upset their higher-ranked compatriots Gao Ling and Huang Sui 15-13, 15-10.
Seeded three, Gao and Huang were seeking a third title of the season but the Olympic champions were unable to find a way past the tenacious defence of their opponents.
In the men's doubles, fourth-seeded Sigit Budiarto and Candra Wijaya of Indonesia rallied to beat young Danish pair Mathias Boe and Carsten Morgensen 8-15, 15-8, 15-7.
The world championships are in Anaheim, California, from August 15-21.
