**Chinese Badminton Dominates French Open 2024 with Clean Sweep**
Trang Napie
Tue Mar 12 2024
The Chinese national badminton team showcased its dominance at the 2024 French Open by securing three World Tour titles in Paris. Notably, Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan made a spectacular comeback to claim the women's doubles championship. Additionally, Shi Yuqi, Feng Yanzhe, and Huang Dongping emerged victorious in their respective categories, solidifying China's stronghold in the sport.
Held at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena, the Super 750 tournament served as a prelude to the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics, acting as a testing ground for the grand event. This venue, exclusively dedicated to badminton and rhythmic gymnastics for the forthcoming Olympic Games, stands as the sole facility constructed for long-term usage in the Paris region designated for the Olympics.
In the men's singles event, Shi Yuqi contributed to China's success by defeating Thailand's reigning world champion, Kunlavut Vitidsarn, in a tightly contested match that concluded with a scoreline of 22-20, 21-19. In the mixed doubles category, Feng and Huang easily overcame the challenge posed by South Korea's world champions Seo Seung-Jae and Chai Yu-Jung, clinching victory with a commanding score of 21-16, 21-16 to claim the championship title.
The most thrilling match of the day unfolded in the women's doubles final between Chen/Jia and Japan's pair Matsuyama Nami/Shida Chiharu. The world number one duo, Chen and Jia, comfortably won the first game with a score of 21-12. However, starting from the second game, due to escalating errors from the Chinese duo, Matsuyama/Shida gradually regained control, winning the second game 21-19 and taking a significant lead in the third set. Jia tearfully admitted in a post-match interview, "I made many mistakes in the second game, I know that. The start of the third game was not smooth either. Towards the end, I tried to make amends."
The turning point came in the final stages of the deciding game when the Japanese pair led 20-15 with five match points. Nonetheless, the resilient Chinese players scored six consecutive points to regain control before ultimately securing victory with a 24-22 scoreline. Jia remarked, "We didn't think we were just one point away from defeat, instead, we thought we still needed 7 points to win."
The women's singles crown was claimed by South Korea's An Se-young, who defeated Japan's Akane Yamaguchi with scores of 18-21, 21-13, 21-10. The men's doubles title went to top-seeded duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty from India, who triumphed over Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan of Chinese Taipei with a score of 21-11, 21-17.
Following the French Open 2024, the elite badminton players will showcase their skills at the prestigious All England Open in Birmingham, England. The Chinese team's exceptional performance in Paris reaffirms their prowess and sets a high benchmark for future competitions on the badminton court.