KEY POINTS:
China came close to total domination of the 2007 world junior badminton championships at the Trusts Stadium, Waitakere, yesterday but a remarkable effort by a Korean duo, some contentious service calls and a comeback by a Malaysian pair held off the Chinese team, to a certain extent.
The finals day started with Malaysian second seeds Khim Wah Lim and Hui Lin Ng capturing the world junior mixed title after defeating English third seeds Chris Adcock and Gabrielle White in a tight three sets.
Adcock and White got off to a good start with a 13-8 lead, however the Malaysians levelled the score at 13-all after winning five consecutive points. The rest of the set was point for point until the English combination closed it out 25-23.
In the second, Adcock and White had a healthy lead once again at 19-15 but then squandered a championship point and the chance to become the first non-Asian winners of a world juniors title since 1992. The Malaysians came back to take the set, 22-20.
Lim and Ng kept their composure in the third and deciding game to win 21-19. The final score 23-25, 22-20, 21-19 gave Malaysia their only gold medal at this year's championships.
The women's singles was the most straightforward of the day as Chinese third seed Lin Wang easily beat Korean Youn Joo Bae 21-16, 21-15.
The men's singles final displayed a potential star of the future in the form of Long Chen from China. The tall second seed defeated Japanese sixth seed Kenichi Tago 21-16, 21-14. Tago tried everything but Chen proved too powerful and too quick.
The women's doubles was another China versus Korea final, with the Chinese again the winners - this time with Jing Xie and Qianxin Zhong in three sets.
The final contest of the tournament was China against Korea in the men's doubles. Top seeds Tian Li and Biao Chai (China) won the first set 26-24 with both sides using some aggressive tactics. However, as the match continued, the Chinese duo complained regularly about the driving service action of their Korean counterparts Eui Seok Chung and Baek ChoelShin.
The referee was brought in but to no avail for the Chinese. The Koreans won the second set 21-19 and then the third and final set 21-15.
