Taiwan brothers Lu Chia-hung and Lu Chia-pin won the men’s doubles title at the Badminton World Federation International Challenge Dec. 22 in California.
The pair clinched the championship with a comprehensive 21-18, 21-10 victory over fellow sibling duo Phillip Chew and Ryan Chew of the U.S. in 30 minutes.
Taiwan players delivered strong performances across the tournament in Orange County. Hung Shih-han and Yu Chien-hui finished second in the women’s doubles after losing a hard-fought final 21-19, 21-15 to Kristen Tsai and Rachel Honderich of Canada, while Hsu Jen-hao and Liang Ting-yu reached the semifinals of the men’s and women’s singles, respectively.
The California event has proved a happy hunting ground for the Lu brothers. Last year, Lu Chia-hung won the men’s singles title and the duo finished as runners-up in the doubles.
Other previous Taiwan winners at the event include Hsu, who secured the men’s singles title in 2014, Pai Yu-po, who claimed the women’s singles in 2015, and Hsieh Pei-chen and Wu Ti-jung, who won the women’s doubles in 2014.
First held in 2014, the International Challenge is an open tournament sanctioned by Malaysia-headquartered BWF, Peru-based Badminton Pan Am and USA Badminton. More than 160 athletes competed in this year’s edition running Dec. 18-22 with a total purse of US$25,000. (KWS-E)
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