Badminton star Tai wins Taiwan’s 1st Denmark Open title

2018/10/23

World No. 1 Tai Tzu-ying clinched the women’s singles title at the Denmark Open 2018 by defeating India’s Saina Nehwal Oct. 21 in Odense, becoming the first Taiwan player to win the title.
 
 The badminton star defeated Nehwal 21-13, 13-21, 21-6 in 52 minutes, earning her US$54,250 in prize money. The victory was Tai’s eighth career title this calendar year.
 
 She surged ahead in the first game with a 6-1 lead, maintaining her advantage by capitalizing on the Indian athlete’s errors and delivering impressive drop shots and on-the-line smashes. In the second set, Nehwal fought back by playing good length and keeping Tai away from the net.
 
 Resuming her aggressive play in the decider, the Taiwan star gave her visibly tired opponent almost no time to react. At 14-5, the gap was sufficient for Tai to cruise ahead and she won match point with a cleverly executed net shot.
 
 In her postgame interview, Tai said she had been able to stage a comeback after Nehwal’s surprise second set win because she did not lose confidence in her ability to defeat the world No. 10.
 
 Later the same day, Taiwan badminton ace Chou Tien-chen came second in the men’s singles competition at the Danish tournament. The Taiwan athlete lost 20-22, 21-16, 15-21 to Kento Momota of Japan in a nail-biting 77-minute match.
 
 Born in southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung City, Tai has enjoyed a stellar career since debuting in 2009 and becoming the country’s youngest ever top-ranked player at age 16. She has won a string of victories this year including the nation’s first-ever badminton gold at the Asian Games in August as well as winning five Badminton World Federation events in Taipei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the U.K.

Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/news.php?unit=10&post=143784)