Rio Olympics in sight for Lee Chun-hei and Chau Hoi-wah after victory in Canada
Hong Kong mixed doubles pair beat Indonesia's Vita Marissa and Andrei Adistia for their second title in two months
Lee Chun-hei and Chau Hoi-wah captured their second mixed doubles title in two months as they motor towards their target of qualifying for the Rio Olympic Games next year.
After losing out in the US Open final in New York the previous week, they made no mistake in the Canada Open in Calgary over the weekend with a straight games win over Vita Marissa and Andrei Adistia, of Indonesia. The second seeds from Hong Kong registered a 21-16, 21-18 victory in less than half an hour at the grand prix series final.
It comes hot on the heels of their victory in the Australian Open superseries in May, which raised their world ranking last week to 10th. The world’s top 16 pairs will qualify for the 2016 Rio Summer Games.
They are now on course to make it to the Rio Games, but of course they can’t take anything for granted as there are still many tournaments before the qualification process ends next May
Coach Tim He Yeming attributed his charges’ success to a more consistent game, especially from the 21-year-old Lee, making it easier for the pair to deliver the goods on court.
“Lee is still a very young player and it always takes time to become competitive at the highest level,” said He. “The pair reached the Asian Championships final this year and coupled with their performance in the Australian Open and the two following tournaments in North America, they have showed improvement not only in their skills but also in their mental game, which is important when it comes to dealing with different types of players.
In the men’s singles final, Ng Ka-long was unable to trouble former world number one Lee Chong Wei, of Malaysia, losing 21-17, 21-13. Lee’s ranking had dropped dramatically after an eight-month doping ban but he was too good for the up-and-coming player from Hong Kong.