Chinese twin shuttlers Luo Ying and Luo Yu won the women's doubles super series here on Sunday, beating Christinna Pedersen/Kamilla Rytter Juhl from Denmark in the final.
The Danes retired in the third set as Pedersen suffered from stomach problems.
The 24-year old Luo Ying/Luo Yu, world No. 1, said the victory was the result of their hard work "as we played overall a great season in 2015." After losing the first set 14-21, the Luo twins managed to turn the tables and won the two following sets 21-9 and 14-4. Pedersen felt not well so the Danes retired early in the third set.
The Danish team started with an aggressive play and harmonized well. "That was our plan," said Juhl. The Luo sisters, one head shorter than the Scandinavians, responded with a clever zig-zag play and short shuttles close to the net which effectively irritated the duo Pedersern/Juhl.
In the second set, the Chinese players changed their tactic and switched to a more aggressive style, increasing pressure with smashes close to the net. By switching shooting frequencies between slow shuttlecocks and fast shuttlecocks, the Chinese equipe broke the Danish defense.
"After we lost the first set, we adapted our tactics to our opponents," said Luo Yu, adding that they took during the breaks important pieces of advice from their coach.
A fantastic exchange leading to 9-5 lead in set 2 was a major psychological boost for China, leading then to win the second set 21-9. The Danes looked increasingly exhausted at the start of the third set, desperately trying to find a way to break the Chinese tag team play. But the Luo sister quickly led 5-0, then 7-2 and eventually won set three 14-4 as Pedersen had to retire.
Luo Ying said she and her twin sister are now eager to prepare for Summer Olympic Games in Rio 2016.