Xia Xuanze, Zhou Mi triumph

Xia Xuanze of China won the men's singles title in the World Grand Prix badminton finals, defeating Indonesian Marleve Mainaky in a thrilling four-game final on Sunday.

The former All England champion overcame Mainaky 7-4, 7-5, 2-7, 8-6.

For the Indonesian, it was a case of second time unlucky, having also stumbled at the final hurdle in the last edition of the event in December 1999.

For Xuanze, though, it was a fantastic victory, coming after a disappointing year so far, where he has not won a single title before this event.

Mainaky, who had ousted India's Pulella Gopichand in the quarter-finals, had been in great form through this event and was the favourite to win against the young Chinese.

But it was Xuanze, the Sydney Olympics bronze medalist, who began in a whirlwind fashion, attacking with great power to take the tall Indonesian by surprise.

Mainaky, the world number six, loves to mix up his game and then force the opponent back with his brilliant parallel attacking game, honed by years of practice with elder brother Rexy Mainaky, a former Olympic doubles champion.

However, on Sunday, it was the Chinese who was firing on all cylinders, attacking from all over the court as he took the first game 7-4.

Xuanze said later: "This was certainly the best match I have played this season and I am thankful this performance came in the final."

The men’s doubles final, which saw reigning champions Candra Wijaya and Tony Gunawan pitted against compatriots Halim Haryanto and Sigit Budiarto, was not quite the thriller most anticipated.

It was, however, a fast and furious affair with both pairs showing exactly why the Indonesians are on top of this discipline. Wijaya and Gunawan ended the contest efficiently 7-5, 8-6, 7-2 in just 30 minutes.

The all-Chinese women’s finals saw Zhou Mi take a first world title over Olympic champion Gong Zhichao 7-5, 5-7, 7-1, 7-0, and in the doubles Huang Nanyan and Yang Wei -- Olympic silver medallists -- overcome compatriots Chen Lin and Jiang Xuelian 8-6, 7-3, 3-7, 7-3.

In the mixed doubles, Tri Kusharyanto and Minarti Timur were also unlucky losers for the second year in a row, after they were beaten by Denmark's Jens Eriksen and Mette Schjoldager -- the only European representatives in all of the five finals -- 8-7, 7-4, 7-4. The triumph was the nation’s first in doubles since 1996, when Michael Sogaard and Rikke Olsen won in Bali.

Earlier reports
Gopichand crashes out
Gopichand scores second win
Gopichand wins Grand Prix opener