Taiwan Today

Taiwanese badminton player Cheng Shao-chieh beat Pi Hongyan of France 21-15, 21-11 in the women’s singles final of the 2011 Yonex Canada Open July 26, taking home US$3,750 in prize money. Cheng claimed victory 34 minutes into the match, for a record of two wins and three losses against Pi since 2007. “I’m feeling happy after this win, and I won’t be afraid to face her anymore,” Cheng said. The 25-year-old Taiwanese star said she felt her strategy of combining lifts and drop shots, along with her stable play, helped defeat her opponent, 32, who may not have yet recovered peak form after a recent operation. Cheng, ranked eighth in the world, is expected to earn 5,000 ranking points with the win, which would raise her position by one spot and pave her way to a slot in the 2012 London Summer Olympics. Meanwhile, Taiwanese players grabbed two silvers and one bronze at the same tournament. In the women’s doubles final, Cheng Wen-hsing and Chien Yu-chin, ranked world No. 2, failed to defend their title as they lost to mainland China’s unseeded Cheng Shu and Bao Yixin 13-21, 21-23. In the mixed doubles final, Chen Hung-ling and Cheng Wen-hsing lost to Germany’s Michael Fuchs and Birgit Michels 10-21, 21-23. Tai Tzu-ying captured bronze in the women’s singles. The Taiwanese athletes will participate in the Yonex World Badminton Championships in London August 8 to 14. (THN)