Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee won the women's doubles world title in New Delhi, beating China's top seeds Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning 21-15, 21-15. The result ended a long wait for South Korea.
Five quick points, then control
The third seeds took the first five points on Sunday at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium and never fell behind in the opening game. A close 4-4 start in the second game turned into a 10-5 lead for the Koreans. When the Chinese pair rallied to 13-12, Baek and Lee answered with five straight points to finish the match in 51 minutes.
A thirty-one-year gap, closed
It was South Korea's first women's doubles world title since 1995. Lee, aged 32, had taken bronze and silver at past championships with a different partner but never gold. Baek, 25, had no world championship medal at all before stepping onto the court.
The win was a clear upset. The pair had lost all five of their previous matches against Liu and Tan and had not claimed any international event this season. Two 21-15 games rewrote that record at the perfect moment.
"I only dreamed about winning a world title and it means so much to have it come true," Lee told reporters, thanking her partner for sharing the moment. The duo had already won the Asian Championships and two World Tour Finals, but the world crown had stayed out of reach.
The Asian Games in Japan lay less than a month away.
