BADMINTON/36-year-old Chou Tien-chen becomes oldest winner of BWF Super 1000 title

Taipei, July 26 (CNA) Taiwan's Chou Tien-chen (周天成) on Sunday became the oldest winner of a Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 1000 title after defeating France's Toma Junior Popov in the China Open men's singles final.

World No. 6 Chou beat world No. 16 Popov in a three-game match 21-15, 7-21, 21-13.

Chou entered Sunday's match with a 1-2 career record in favor of Popov, though the last time the pair faced each other was in March, 2024.

While he took the first game, Taiwan's ace initially trailed behind Popov by six points.

After regaining his composure, Chou was able to overtake his French counterpart to win the first game 21-15.

Chou was unable to capitalize on his win and failed to ride the momentum to hand Popov an easy 7-21 win in the second game.

During the crucial final game, Chou regained control and led the first half of the third game 11-4.

Although Chou was able to keep his advantage after the mandatory interval, Popov himself gave it his all to see nine game points in the game.

However, Popov was only able to win two more points before Chou ended the match to win his second career BWF Super 1000 title, after his 2019 Indonesia Open win.

At 36 years and 199 days old, Chou became the oldest shuttler to win a top-tier Super 1000 title.

Chou played with an intensity that belied his age, with the smash that won him his 18th point in the final game clocking 484 kilometers per hour.

Chou also became the second person in Taiwan's history to win a China Open title, following Fung Permadi (陳鋒), who won a championship for Taiwan after switching his nationality from Indonesia.

The Sunday win also saw Chou win at least a title in five consecutive seasons.