Taiwan’s Cheng Shao-chieh won the silver medal at the 2011 Badminton World Federation World Championships after losing to mainland China’s Wang Yihan 15-21 and 10-21 at London’s Wembley Arena Aug 14.
The silver marked both Taiwan’s and Cheng’s best performance at the annual event; she was the bronze medalist at the 2005 world championships.
Currently ranked eighth in the world by the BWF, Cheng upset the world’s top player Wang Shixian from mainland China in the quarterfinals and defeated Germany’s Juliane Schenk to win herself a place in the finals.
“I am surprised by Wang’s performance today,” Cheng said after the game. “I think her coaching team must have conducted a thorough study on me and formulated a strategy for her accordingly. It’s a great pity that I did not win the game.”
Cheng led her mainland Chinese opponent 4-0 in the opening set of the championship match but saw the momentum shift in Wang’s favor after the latter scored 9 unanswered points to win the first set 21-15. Cheng was never able to lead in the game from there.
Including the latest square-off, the pair has met four times so far, with Wang, currently ranked second worldwide, taking a dominant 4-0 advantage. Cheng’s ranking is expected to remain the same.
Although she fell one step short of winning the gold, Cheng said she enjoyed the game. “I have been doing pretty well since June, and this has helped boost my confidence,” she said, adding that she would love to represent Taiwan at the 2012 London Olympics.
Cheng will next compete in the 2011 Universiade, which is being held in mainland China’s Shenzhen Aug. 12 to 23. (HZW)
Write to Meg Chang at meg.chang@mail.gio.gov.tw