Hometown hero Lee claims HK title in style

Lee Cheuk Yiu diving to retrieve a drop shot at the World Championships in August. The unheralded Hong Konger, who appeared to back the pro-democracy protests after his opening match on Wednesday, survived championship point to pull off an upset win
Lee Cheuk Yiu diving to retrieve a drop shot at the World Championships in August. The unheralded Hong Konger, who appeared to back the pro-democracy protests after his opening match on Wednesday, survived championship point to pull off an upset win over Indonesian Anthony Ginting yesterday. PHOTO: REUTERS

HONG KONG • Home favourite Lee Cheuk Yiu battled to victory yesterday over Indonesia's Anthony Ginting to secure a shock Hong Kong Open win as the city's pro-democracy protests raged nearby.

He came from a game behind and then saw off championship point in a thrilling decider before winning 16-21, 21-10, 22-20 to lift his first major trophy.

"To win my first Super 500 title is such a great feeling, and that too in front of my home crowd," he said. "I was so lucky. I was in the qualifying round and got into the main draw after someone withdrew.

"And now I got the title. I'm so fortunate. I want to thank my fans who came to watch me. They cheered me on for every point."

"That I withstood all the pressure means a lot. I'm very excited to win my first major title."

The final took place at the Hong Kong Coliseum, a short distance from the Polytechnic University where a police officer was wounded by a protester's arrow in the latest fierce clashes.

This was world No. 27 Lee's first BWF World Tour title. He had won a lower-tier Grand Prix event, the New Zealand Open, in 2017.

The 23-year-old did it the hard way too. He had faced a match point against Ginting at 19-20 before winning the next three points to triumph in the tense 1hr 17min clash.

Ginting said: "I knew he would be confident as he was playing at home. He has his own style. He was very confident, some of his shots were very weird, not usual."

Lee's run to the final was also dramatic. He beat 2018 All England champion Shi Yuqi in the round of 16, then claimed shock wins over former world No. 1s Viktor Axelsen and Kidambi Srikanth in the next two rounds. In none of those matches did Lee drop a game.

He made headlines after his opening match when he held up an outstretched right hand and his left index finger, in a gesture interpreted as supporting "Five demands, not one less" - a slogan chanted by the protesters.

In the women's final, China's Chen Yufei, who captured the previous week's Fuzhou China Open, overcame Thai former world champion Ratchanok Intanon 21-18, 13-21, 21-13. It was Chen's sixth World Tour title this year.

South Korea's Choi Sol-gyu and Seo Seung-jae beat Indonesians Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan to win the men's doubles, and China's Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan saw off Chang Ye-na and Kim Hye-rin in the women's doubles final.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on November 18, 2019, with the headline Hometown hero Lee claims HK title in style. Subscribe