Badminton: Disgraced pair wins China Open

SHANGHAI: Chinese women’s doubles team Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli won the China Open in their first tournament together since being booted out of the Olympics in a playing-to-lose scandal that rocked the London Games. The second-seeded pair defeated number six seeds Miyuki Maeda and Satoko Suetsuna 21-19, 14-7 after the Japanese duo retired from the match. In women’s singles, Chinese Olympic champion Li Xuerui beat Ratchanok Inthanon of Thailand 21-12, 21-9, while in the all Chinese men’s singles final top-seed Chen Long edged compatriot Wang Zhengming 21-19, 21-18.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 19^th, 2012.