Birthday girl Wang Yihan buries Malaysian jinx

World champion and current world No. 1 finally won a title in Malaysia when she captured the Maybank Malaysia Open presented by Proton on Sunday.

The Shanghai native (left), who turns 24 on Wednesday, was a beaten finalist at last year’s tournament and in 2010 she lost her match in the Uber Cup final at Putra Stadium which helped South Korea to a surprise victory in the women’s team world championships.
On Sunday, Wang Yihan made no mistakes as she outgunned 2010 Malaysia Open champion and teammate Wang Xin 21-19, 21-11 for her first OSIM BWF World Superseries title of the season.
“Last year I lost in the final (to Wang Shixian), so I'm happy to win my first title in Malaysia,” said an emotional Wang Yihan, who closed out 2011 by bagging the Li Ning BWF World Superseries Finals a month ago.
“The strong draft on the court did affect the way we played. To be honest, neither Shixian nor I were in the best conditions as it was a long hard 2011 and we have started the year with back-to-back tournaments, starting with South Korea last week.
“I learnt from my defeats in Malaysia, especially the 2010 Uber Cup and now I understand my weaknesses better.
“I'm thankful to come back so quickly. I lost in this venue twice in the past two years and this time I was determined to do better. That was what I’ve been thinking of since the quarter-finals.”
Wang Xin (right), who won a season leading four Superseries crowns in 2011 – Singapore, Denmark, French and Hong Kong – admitted her eagerness to wrap up the first game was the cause of her defeat.
“I didn’t feel good on the court. I wasn’t patient enough and I was not able to play my normal game,” said Wang Xin
“The first game was the key. The moment I loss it, I knew it would be difficult to come back.”
Meanwhile, world champions Zhang Nan-Zhao Yunlei also won their first ever Malaysia Open title when they defeated second seeds Xu Chen-Ma Jin in straight games (left).
The top seeds dominated their teammates from the start to carve out a 21-12, 21-9 victory.
“We were playing teammates and we couldn’t really get into the game the way we wanted it. It felt like a training match but overall we’re still happy to have won,” said Zhang Nan.
For full results, click here.
FINALS
Men
Singles: Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia) bt Kenichi Tago (Japan) 21-6, 21-13.
Doubles: Fang Chieh Min-Lee Sheng Mu (Taipei) bt Cho Gun Woo-Shin Baek Choel (South Korea) 16-21, 21-16, 21-16.
Women
Singles: Wang Yihan (China) bt Wang Xin (China) 21-19, 21-11.
Doubles: Christinna Pedersen-Kamilla Rytter-Juhl (Denmark) bt Ha Jung Eun-Kim Min Jung (KOR) 21-19, 21-18.
Mixed doubles: Zhang Nan-Zhao Yunlei (China) bt Xu Chen-Ma Jin (China) 21-12, 21-9.