BADMINTON/Wang Chi-lin, Chiu Hsiang-chieh win Hylo Open men's doubles title

Taipei, Nov. 3 (CNA)Two-time Olympic gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new doubles partner Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤) clinched the men's doubles title at the 2025 Hylo Open in Germany on Sunday, scoring their biggest success of the year.

Wang and Chiu, ranked 21st in the world, upset the world No. 11 duo Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani of Indonesia, 21-19, 21-18, to secure their first championship in a Super 500 tournament or above this year.

Earlier in the season, the Taiwanese pair won the Super 300-level Taipei Open, but in other competitions, they made it no further than the round of 16. In the first two months after teaming up in 2024, they finished third in two Super 500 tournaments.

After the match on Sunday, Wang praised Chiu, his partner since late August 2024.

"It must be tough for him to adjust to the intensity at this level, but I can see that he keeps improving and breaking away from the playing style he was used to," Wang said.

Wang's former partner Lee Yang (李洋), with whom he won back-to-back Olympic gold medals in Tokyo and Paris, semi-retired after the Paris Games and formally hung up his racket following the 2024 BWF World Tour Finals.

Wang said the 2025 Hylo Open title was "just the beginning," even as he noted that many top players from Japan, South Korea, and China did not compete in Germany.

Following his win, he said, he would return to Taiwan for a medical checkup, as he was experiencing some tightness and pain in his right shoulder during his games.