Taipei, Nov. 4 (CNA) Female shuttlers Sung Suo-yun (宋碩芸) and Yu Chien-hu (余芊慧) claimed their first doubles title of 2024 at the Hylo Open in Germany on Sunday.
Entering the Super 300-level tournament as the top seeds, the Taiwanese pair defeated the Ukrainian duo Polina Buhrova and Yevheniia Kantemyr 21-16, 21-14 in just 36 minutes.
Sung and Yu faced little resistance in the match, leading throughout the first game and taking control of the second with an 11-4 run after trailing 3-4.
In a post-match interview, their coach Su Yi-neng (蘇義能) said the key moment for the two players, who previously focused on singles events, came during their round of 16 win.
“They played more like a pair after that win, and their teamwork was much better,” he said.
Following a bye in the round of 32, the Taiwanese duo secured a comeback victory over Chloe Birch and Estelle Van Leeuwen of England, bouncing back after dropping the first game 19-21 to win the next two games 21-8, 21-19.
Before the Hylo Open, Sung and Yu had been eliminated in all but two of the 14 doubles events they had competed in this year before the quarterfinals. Their best result had been finishing as runners-up at the Super 100-level Kaohsiung Masters in June.
Pleased to secure her first Super-series title, Yu said the toughest challenge came in the semifinal on Saturday, where they outlasted the Danish pair in a grueling three-game match that lasted nearly an hour.
Meanwhile, Sung expressed satisfaction with their performance in the final match. “Winning this championship has really boosted our confidence. I hope we can keep playing well and continue to improve.”
