Taipei, July 24 (CNA) Taiwan's top male shuttler Chou Tien-chen (周天成) won his fourth Taipei Open singles title on Sunday after outplaying world No. 38 Kodai Naraoka of Japan in the final.
Their 61-minute match concluded 14-21, 21-10 and 21-6 in favor of the Taiwan ace, currently world No. 4, as he claimed his fourth career Taipei Open title, following wins in 2016, 2017, and 2019.
While Chou had a homefield advantage, with fans welcoming him with rousing cheers as he entered the court, Chou got off to a rough start by opening the first game 0-4. While he then caught up to Naraoka 5-6, Chou still lost the first round 14-21.
However, Chou's homefield advantage seemed to take effect in the second game after the Taiwan ace achieved a 11-7 lead before a timeout was called, after which Naraoka was able to close the gap to 11-9. Chou then reclaimed the momentum to win the game 21-10.
In the final game, Chou took advantage of Naraoka's depleting stamina and easily won 21-6 to win the match and his 4th Taipei Open title.
"This was unbelievable," Chou said at his post-win presser. "I really cherish the opportunity God gave me in being able to remain in highly competitive shape over the past decade, and even achieve victories."
Of Naraoka, Chou said his opponent's technique made the match a difficult one. He added that he resorted to testing Naraoka to adjust his strategies, enabling him to exploit his opponent's tiredness to win.
Chou was also grateful for his fans giving him a homefield advantage, saying "No matter how many points you fall behind, everyone believes that you can catch up. I kept feeling positive energy flowing into my heart."
Chou then said that he gave away his badminton racket after the match, noting that he had not intended to do so due to COVID-19 policies, but still ended up doing it to celebrate the win at home.
With the 2022 Badminton World Federation World Championships just around the corner from Aug. 21-28 in Tokyo, Chou said the Taipei Open was preparation as he had planned to use it to reassess his advantages and faults.
The Taipei Open win was Chou's best achievement so far this year, followed by a runner-up placement at the Indonesia Open in June.
The 2022 Taipei Open, a Super 300 event that carries a total purse of US$500,000 (NT$14.906 million), is being held at Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium with 92 players from 26 countries.
The tournament was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
