Chen Qingchen(L) and Jia Yifan of China pose during the awarding ceremony for the women's doubles final in the Badminton World Federation's (BWF) Dubai World Superseries Finals badminton tournament in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, Dec. 18, 2016. Chen and Jia claimed the title by defeating Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi of Japan with 2-1. (Xinhua/Li Zhen)
DUBAI, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- The two 19-year old Chinese players defeated here on Sunday Japan' s 2016 Rio Olympic gold medallists Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi in three tough sets 21-15, 13-21, 21-17 in Dubai' s Hamdan Sports Complex, taking home a cheque of 84,000 dollar.
"We still cannot believe this moment, we feel very excited" , said a happy Chen when holding with her partner Jia the trophies in their hands.
China's Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan quickly moved to 10-4 after the match began. They won the first set thanks to their intelligent playing style, characterized by switching sides quickly and by changing tactics.
The Chinese, however, also benefitted from many mistakes by Matsutomo/Takahashi who won five tournaments this year (including the Olympics).
In the second set, the Japanese players gained an upper hand over their Chinese opponents who looked increasingly exhausted. "We did regain strength in the second set, but then we lost the scope in the third set" , said 26-year old Takahashi. Chen admitted "they changed tactics in the second set and we slowed down, that is why we gave it away."
Tensions rose in the third set when each pair scored one point after the other, leading to a 9-9 stalemate. But the road to victory became only clear when Chen/Jia advanced to lead 11-9.
