Badminton Ranking Tournament: Liu Guang-heng/Chen Cheng-kuan Stage Comeback to Defeat Teammates and Claim Title

The "Kuan-Guang" duo, Liu Guang-heng and Chen Cheng-kuan, secured their first national ranking tournament championship by defeating fellow Taiwanese players Lin Bing-wei and Chiu Shao-hua in a thrilling three-set match. The final score was 17-21, 24-22, 21-7, with Liu and Chen demonstrating remarkable resilience after dropping the first set.

Since forming their partnership in May, Liu and Chen have shown steady improvement. They reached the semifinals of both the Australian Open (Super 500) in June and the Taipei Open (Super 300) last month. Despite their current world ranking of 67, which necessitates participation in domestic ranking tournaments, their consistent performance has propelled them to the top.

Liu attributes their success to their close bond and effective communication. "We speak our minds directly, and if there's a problem, we can adjust it immediately, so we've meshed very quickly," he explained. He also noted that their prior training together facilitated a rapid development of on-court chemistry.

“

We speak our minds directly, and if there's a problem, we can adjust it immediately, so we've meshed very quickly.

After competing internationally, the pair recently returned to Taiwan, making a strong showing at the Taipei Open before entering the national ranking tournament. Chen admitted to feeling some pressure from increased fan attention after the Taipei Open semifinals, but found the experience positive. "It's a good feeling, it lets us learn to handle pressure," he said.

Looking ahead, Liu and Chen are preparing for an intensive schedule of six tournaments, four in Europe and two in Asia, starting in October. Their primary goal is to accumulate enough ranking points to break into the top 32 in the world by next year, which would grant them entry into top-tier Super 1000 events.

“

The Taipei Open semifinals put a bit of pressure on us, it felt like we had more fans watching, but it's a good feeling, it lets us learn to handle pressure.