BADMINTON/Taiwan wins men's singles, mixed doubles titles at US Open badminton

Taipei, June 29 (CNA) Taiwanese badminton player Su Li-yang (蘇力揚) won the men's singles championship at the Yonex US Open 2026 in Fullerton, California on Sunday, while his compatriots Hsu Yin-hui (許尹鏸) and Liu Kuang-heng (劉廣珩) secured the mixed doubles title.

Su, 24, currently ranked as the world No. 46, defeated world No. 38 Srikanth Kidambi of India 21-15, 16-21, 21-9 at the 17th Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour stop.

It was Su's first professional title, following two gold medal wins in BWF junior competitions in 2018 and 2019.

In 2023, Su took silver at the Taipei Open, as well as four runner-up titles at lower-level BWF international challenges and series events.

Since then, Su had been struggling, as he had been unable to reach the top, his coach Lee Sung-yuan (李松遠) told CNA.

Lee said Su had a habit of playing very hastily, in an attempt to defeat his opponents quickly and prove himself.

The player soon got himself into a vicious cycle of failing to capture the gold, and he lost confidence, Lee said.

"That was why when facing Srikanth today, he was asked to be patient and control the pace," Lee said.

Also on Sunday, Taiwan won gold and silver in the mixed doubles final at the US Open, with Hsu and Liu prevailing 21-9, 21-11 against compatriots Wu Hsuan-yi (吳軒毅) and Yang Chu-Yun (楊筑云).

Since Hsu and Liu had only recently linked up, they are currently ranked world No. 121, but they made quick work of Wu and Yang, the world No. 49 duo and winners of the mixed doubles title at the BWF's 61st Portugal International Championships in March.

Liu and Hsu controlled most of the two-game match, leaving their opponents trailing 9 points behind in the first game, which saw the score reach 11-2.

"Almost the entire game was played at our pace," Liu told CNA. "That was how we were able to stay ahead."

"We were very clear about our responsibilities today," Hsu added. "We did well serving and returning, and we were able to quickly communicate and adjust our play when we made mistakes."