China's top seed Zhou Mi beat team-mate and defending champion Zhang Ning in the women's singles final of the JVC Asian Badminton Championships at Nimibutr Gymnasium yesterday.

Despite being an all-Chinese affair, both women performed at world-class level, but it was the younger Zhou who came from a set down to defeat Zhang 6-11, 11-3, 11-8 for the crown.

Ranked No 4 in the IBF world rankings, the 23-year-old Zhou picked up US$7,500 and a gold medal for her victory. Zhang went home with US$4,700.

There was an intense feeling of rivalry between Zhou and Zhang from the start when the 27-year-old Zhang moved her younger opponent around the court to race into a 9-4 lead. Zhou looked helpless against the stinging smashes and superbly-timed drop shots of Zhang as she easily took the first set 11-6.



The Guangxi-born Zhou, however, turned up the heat in the next set and gave Zhang a dose of her own medicine with a mixture of lobs and deep smashes to make it a set apiece at 11-3.



The decider could have gone either way as the players produced some highly-entertaining rallies and world-class shots from all parts of the court. With the score tied at 7-7, Zhou produced a flurry of winners to make it 10-8 and at match point sealed the win with an unexpected drop shot just close to the line.

A exhausted but happy Zhou said: ``I have been feeling physically run down throughout this tournament so it was great to win.

``Despite losing the first set, I was confident of victory against Zhang because I am a player who takes time to settle down, and after that I just play my normal game.''

In the men's singles final, which was an all-Indonesian affair, 18-year-old Sony Dwi Kuncoro upset world No 13 and fourth seed Taufik Hidayat 15-12, 15-5.

Dwi Kuncoro, who is ranked a lowly 72 in the world, received US$11,000 while Hidayat won US$7,500.



The women's doubles crown went to Zhong Jiewen and Yang Wei who outclassed Chinese compatriots Gao Ling and Huang Sui 11-8, 11-6. The winners took home US$7,500 and the runners-up US$5000.

South Korea's top-seeded men's doubles pair of Ha Tae-kwon and Kim Dong-moon had a 15-6, 15-8 win over Indonesia's Chandra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto. The Koreans won US$11,000 and the Indonesians US$8,500.


FINALS RESULTS
Men's singles: Sony Dwi Kuncoro (Ina) bt Taufik Hidayat (Ina) 15-12, 15-5
Women's singles: Zhou Mi (Chn)bt Zhang Ning (Chn) 6-11, 11-3, 11-8
Women's doubles: Zhong Jiewen/Yang Wei (Chn) bt Gao Ling/Huang Sui (Chn) 11-8, 11-6
Men's doubles: Ha Tae-kwon/Kim Dong-moon (Kor) bt Chandra Wijaya/Sigit Budiarto (Ina) 15-6, 15-8

Yvonne Bohwongprasert