HK star shuttlers Tang-Tse pair crowned Asia Champions

Hong Kong star shuttlers Jordan Tang Chun-man and Tse Ying-suet made a stunning return by snatching gold in the Badminton Asia Championships after beating Japanese pair Hiroki Midorikawa and Natsu Saito 2-1 in the finals on Sunday.

The victory marked the first time the “Tang-Tse pair” were crowned champions of Asia in their career, which also made them the second Hong Kong pair to have been crowned Asian champions in this tournament.

The fifth seed of the tournament was unstoppable from the start, as they progressed through four rounds without losing a set to advance to the finals, including beating world number one Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin from mainland China 2-0 on Saturday.

The pair said they only decided to “get back together” two weeks ago, as Tse needed to undergo surgery to remove a teratoma in January and recover from her leg injury.

“I did not think about the future too much after my surgery. I thought the World Tour Finals (in December last year) would already be my final international tournament, but I decided to return two weeks ago,” Tse said.

“If the Hong Kong team needs me, I will put my best foot forward as long as I can still play,” she added.
Tang said in the post-race interview that although the match against Jiang and Wei had taken its toll on their stamina, the win boosted their confidence.

“Fortunately we were able to fend our opponents off, especially in the deciding set, the reduction in mistakes extended our lead and it made the match much easier for us,” Tang said.

The pair added that they will have their eyes set on snatching another medal in the Sudirman Cup to be held between April 27 to May 4, before focusing on getting good results for Hong Kong in more world tournaments as well as the National Games to be held by the end of this year.

(Michael Shum)