Tokyo, Japan, August 1, 2021: China’s top seed Chen Yufei beat world number one Tai Tzu-Ying of Chinese Taipei in a thrilling final of the women’s badminton singles at Musashino Forest Sports Plaza on Sunday night.
The top two seeds fought hard for 81 minutes before Chen prevailed 21-18, 19-21, 21-18 to restore China’s supremacy in this event.
World champion and Rio 2016 silver medallist Pusarla V. Sindhu of India took home the bronze after beating China’s He Bingjao 21-13, 21-15 in the play-off for the third place on the podium.
Hangzhou-born Chen, 23, acknowledged the significance of what she’d achieved for China, reinstating the country’s supremacy at major events which they’d lost after winning gold in London 2012.
“I’m extremely happy to extend the honour, as we’ve actually had difficulty with the Chinese badminton’s women’s team since 2016. Now I stand today on top of the podium.
“I was really tired but I persisted. I might have seemed really stretched and exhausted but I could still carry on with the game.
“This gold is recognition for myself as well as the women’s badminton of China. I’m extremely happy. I want to say thank you to my parents. I’ve been away from home a lot. I feel indebted to them. I hope this gold can be compensation in some way.”
On winning silver, Tai, 27, said she was pleased with her performance, but admitted she had made too many mistakes in the third game: “I think I did pretty well today, but my opponent did even better. I made too many mistakes in the third game. It’s an old problem of mine, that’s a pity, that was unnecessary. I tried hard to catch up, but I had just made too many mistakes before.”
On whether she will retire after Tokyo 2020, TTY added: “I will play until the end of this year. Whatever comes after that, I’ll think about it. Paris 2024 feels very far away now. I’ve been playing for half my life, and I just want to have a good rest first.”
