National battle: Wang Chen got the better of compatriot Yip Pui Yin to take badminton gold

Hong Kong, China’s Wang Chen defeated compatriot Yip Pui Yin in two games to take gold in the women’s badminton singles.

Yip produced a number of upsets to reach the final, including a win over World No1 Zhang Ning of China in the quarterfinals, but was unable to maintain her performance.

Wang, a three-times Asian champion and third seed in Doha, eased through the first game before Yip mounted a fightback.

Yip led 9-3 and 19-14 in the second game but Wang recovered the deficit to level and wrapped up the match 21-14, 22-20 on her second match point.

“I’m very happy. I had a lot of pressure on me and Yip had less,” said Wang. “This is the last Asian Games for me and I didn’t want to lose. It is very important for me as I’m already 30 years old.

“In the second game I lost many points, but I didn’t give up. I’m very happy because it hasn’t been an easy match. I had to fight for every point. The gold medal is not only mine, but for the whole [Hong Kong, China] team.”

“I was happy and excited that two Hong Kong Chinese players made it to the final,” said silver medallist Yip. Hong Kong, China, had only won one Asian Games badminton medal before this final, that being when Wang claimed bronze in Busan four years ago.