South Korea won the Uber Cup women’s team championship today, defeating defending champions China 3-1 in the final held at the Forum Horsens in Denmark.
In a bold tactical move, South Korea split their established world No. 3 women’s doubles pair of Baek Ha Na-Lee So Hee. Instead Baek teamed up with Kim Hye-jeong in a gamble that paid off in the decisive fourth match.
World No 1 women’s singles player An Se-young got the ball rolling for South Korea as she outplayed world No 2 Wang Zhi Yi, 21-10, 21-13 in 47 minutes.
Se-young’s win also continued her dominance in their head-to-head encounters, with 20 victories out of 25 matches played against the Chinese.
China fought back through their formidable world No 1 doubles pair Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning, who restored parity with a solid 21-15, 21-12 victory over Jeong Na-eun-Lee So-hee.
However, South Korea regained the upper hand in the second singles when world No 17 Kim Ga-eun pulled off an upset over world No 4 Chen Yufei 21-19, 21-15 in 55 minutes.
With the title within reach, Ha-na teamed up with Hye-jeong to produce a match-winning display in the doubles, coming from behind to battle past Jia Yi Fan-Zhang Shu Xian 16-21, 21-10, 21-13, in a hard-fought decider to seal South Korea’s third Uber Cup crown.
As soon as Ha-na’s smash hit the floor to seal the win, the South Korean team stormed the court, mobbing her and Hye-jeong in celebration.
‘Crazy’ feeling for Korean duo
After the match, Ha Na-Hye Jeong summed up the team’s success in one word – “crazy”. The 25-year-old Ha Na said the victory felt even more meaningful because it was achieved through collective belief and unity within the team throughout the campaign.
“Actually, I didn’t expect it at all (defeating China), but of course, the desire to win was very strong. We kept saying encouraging things to each other and I think we continuously instilled the mindset in one another that we could do it.
“Honestly, winning the Uber Cup is something that is very difficult to do. Doing it like this, with everyone sharing one heart and one mind as a single team, is so meaningful,” she said after the prize giving ceremony.
The victory avenged the South Koreans’ defeat at the 2022 championships when China won by 3-2.
Hye Jeong, 28, said the turning point in the fourth match came when they returned to their natural game after a difficult opening set, shifting the rhythm in their favour.
“In the second game, we decided to go for longer rallies and play what we are originally good at from the start. That started working well and carried through into the third game,” she said.
World No. 1 women’s singles player An Se Young was delighted at clinching a second Uber Cup title after Bangkok 2022, and said the team would celebrate the victory with a party at their hotel.
On the other hand, a visibly emotional Yi Fan admitted that she and partner Shu Xian were unable to cope with the pressure in the decisive moments, which prevented them from forcing a fourth match to decide the outcome.
“When I played in non-team events before I had not endured this kind of pressure. I feel like losing today was not actually as nerve-wrecking as I had imagined,” she said.
