Badminton World Championships: Japan’s Yamaguchi beats China’s Chen to win third title
Japanese fifth seed needs just 37 minutes against a hampered former world No 1 from China to add to her gold medals from 2021, 2022
Akane Yamaguchi beat former world No 1 Chen Yufei of China 21-9, 21-13 on Sunday to win the women’s singles badminton world championship final.
The Japanese fifth seed rarely looked troubled on court in Paris and needed just 37 minutes to add a third world title to her gold medals from 2021 and 2022.
Chen, a Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medallist, battled past top seed and reigning champion An Se-young of South Korea in a semi-final win marked by a nasty-looking ankle twist early in the second game.
The 27-year-old received treatment on the court Saturday and went immediately to have her ankle examined after the match.
In Sunday’s final, Chen appeared hampered in her movement. Yamaguchi took full advantage in the opening game.
The fourth seed dug in to stay with Yamaguchi in the second game until the 28-year-old pulled away after the interval to condemn her opponent to a second world silver medal. Cheng lost her previous final to Yamaguchi in Tokyo three years ago.