China beat Japan 3-0 to win the Asian Games women’s team badminton gold at Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium on 24 September, ending a 12-year wait to regain the title.
The victory delivered China’s 11th women’s team crown at the Asian Games and its first since Incheon 2014. Japan won the event at Jakarta-Palembang in 2018 and South Korea prevailed at Hangzhou in 2022 before China regained the title.
China’s clean sweep was built on a comeback from Wang Zhiyi, a tightly contested doubles victory for Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning, and a swift closing singles win by Chen Yufei. The team had entered the final after a 3-0 semi-final success over Indonesia, while Japan had beaten South Korea 3-1.
Wang recovers to give China the early advantage
Wang, described by The Star as China’s leading singles player, faced Akane Yamaguchi in the opening rubber. Yamaguchi took the first game 21-14, but Wang recovered to win 21-19 and 21-17 after one hour and 20 minutes.
That result proved significant in a final in which China did not allow Japan to establish a lead. Wang’s turnaround placed the pressure on Japan’s next pairing and gave China an advantage before the first doubles match.
The result also came after Wang had collected bronze at the World Championships in New Delhi earlier in the year, according to The Star. Her opening-rubber win was followed by another close contest rather than a routine second point for China.
Wang’s recovery also gave China a winning start despite Japan having reached the final with three victories after Yamaguchi’s defeat by South Korea’s An Se-young. The opening match was China’s only three-game victory of the tie, but it ensured the eventual champions could build from an early lead rather than chase the contest.
Liu and Tan withstand Japan’s doubles challenge
World No. 1 pair Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning beat Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto 21-16, 25-23 in 71 minutes. The second game finished 25-23, and Liu and Tan put China 2-0 ahead.
Japan had shown its doubles strength in the semi-finals against South Korea. Fukushima and Matsumoto had beaten Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee 21-15, 21-19, helping Japan recover after Yamaguchi lost the opening singles match to An Se-young.
Japan subsequently received singles wins from Tomoka Miyazaki over Sim Yu-jin and the pairing of Rin Uesaka and Kie Nakanishi over Jeong Na-eun and Kim Hye-jong to reach the final. However, Japan’s Fukushima and Matsumoto could not level the final against Liu and Tan.
Chen seals the title in straight games
Chen secured the decisive third point against Miyazaki, winning 21-10, 21-11 in 43 minutes. The margin of that victory contrasted with the first two rubbers and completed the 3-0 result.
China’s route to gold had been similarly decisive in the semi-finals. Wang beat Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma 21-15, 22-20, Liu and Tan defeated Rachel Allesya and Febi Setianingrum 21-15, 21-18, and Chen overcame Mutiara Ayu 21-15, 21-12.
Those semi-final scores showed that China had relied on the same three winning combinations before the final. Wang won 21-15, 22-20, with the second game decided by two points, while Liu and Tan and Chen both won in straight games. Against Japan, Wang’s three-game recovery and the 25-23 second game in the doubles meant China had to negotiate its two longest contests before Chen completed the tie.
The final therefore confirmed China’s depth across the three rubbers required to settle the tie. Wang’s recovery against Yamaguchi prevented an early setback, Liu and Tan won the 25-23 second game to give China a 2-0 lead, and Chen converted China’s two-point lead into the gold medal.
For Japan, the runner-up finish followed an important semi-final win over the 2022 champions South Korea. China, though, restored its position as Asian Games women’s team champion after Japan and South Korea had interrupted its run at the previous two editions.