JOHOR BAHRU (Malaysia), April 20: South Korea’s Park Sung Hwan upset All-England champion Chen Jin to secure his first major title on Sunday, winning the men’s finals in the 125,000 dollars Asian Badminton Championships.The 24-year Park, seeded seventh in the tournament, pushed aside the Chinese favourite in straight sets 21-18, 21-18.

“This is my first win in a major tournament and I will cherish it for the rest of my life. It took me six long years to do it,” an emotional Park told reporters after the tournament.

“I am enjoying my game now and the win would not have come at a better time as we have to two major tournaments... the Thomas Cup Finals (in Jakarta next month) and the Olympics in Beijing. It is a boost to my badminton career,” he said.

In the Beijing Olympics, South Korea will be represented by Park, who is currently ranked 12th in the world and their top singles player Lee Hyung Il, ranked 10th.

Earlier the South Korean men’s doubles pair of Jung Jae Sung and Lee Yong Dae overcame the scratch Indonesian pair of Candra Wijaya and Nova Widianto with a 21-16, 21-18 win.

The South Koreans had been tipped to win after defending champions and top seeds Choong Tan Fook and Lee Wan were knocked out by another Korean pair Hwang Ji Man and Lee Jae Jin in the quarter-finals.

It was the third title for Jung and Lee, having won the All-England and the Swiss, as well as finishing runners-up in the German Open.

“We will only compete in the Thomas Cup and Olympics and our preparations from now on will be fully geared towards these two tournaments,” said Lee, who is hailed as the next Park Joo Bong, the hugely successful South Korean player.

The elder Park, who now coaches Japan’s national team, formed a deadly partnership with Kim Moon Soo in the 1980s before both capped their careers winning gold in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

The women’s final was an all-China affair with defending champion Jiang Yanjiao retaining her title with a 18-21, 21-18, 21-13 win over compatriot Wang Lin in 54 minutes.

The mixed doubles saw an all-Indonesian final with Flandy Limpele and Vita Marissa staging another upset by beating top seeds Nova Widianto and Liliyana Natsir 21-17, 21-17.

Results:

Men’s singles: Park Sung Hwan (KOR x7) bt Chen Jin (CHN x4) 21-18, 21-18

Men’s doubles: Jung Jae Sung-Lee Yong Dae (KOR x2) bt Candra Wijaya-Nova Widianto (INA) 21-16, 21-18

Women’s singles: Jiang Yanjiao (CHN) bt Wang Lin (CHN) 18-21, 21-18, 21-13

Women’s doubles: Yang Wei-Zhang Jiewen (CHN x1) bt Cheng Wen Hsin-Chien Yu Chin (TPE x3) 22-20, 21-16

Mixed doubles: Flandy Limpele-Vita Marissa (INA x4) bt Nova Widianto-Liliyana (INA x1) 21-17, 21-17.—AFP