Lee Chong Wei ends Hu Yun's amazing run
Tournament favourite lifts Japan Open title for third straight year after clinical performance
A remarkable run for Hong Kong's Hu Yun in the Superseries Japan Open came to a halt on Sunday as he lost 2-0 (21-14, 21-12) to badminton's world number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
Hu, 32, reached the title match by chopping down the second and third seeds, but simply found the Malaysian too strong. It was the second time Hu, a former mainlander who first represented Hong Kong in 2008, had reached a Superseries final. He was beaten by China's Chen Long in the 2012 China Masters final.
The 31-year-old Malaysian, Lee, took only 35 minutes to stop Hu and lift the title for the third straight year. The victory also helped ease the pain of Malaysia's narrow defeat in the Thomas Cup.
I feel happy because I had not expected such a result before the tournament. Lee Chong Wei was awesome with his speed and attack
In the women's final, China's Olympic champion and world number one Li Xuerui struggled in the first game, but regained her composure to beat Taiwan's Tai Tzu-ying 2-0 in 34 minutes.
"My opponent probably became desperate after dropping the hard-fought first game," Li said.
Playing in her first Japan Open, the 23-year-old Li scored her second victory in the 12-leg Superseries this year. She has taken the Malaysia Open, but was runner-up in three other events.
In the Thomas Cup final three weeks ago, Lee beat Kenichi Tago, but Malaysia allowed Japan to lift their first men's team championship by 3-2.
His badminton-crazy country had aimed for a first Thomas Cup victory in 22 years.
