Lee/Kim Triumph – Barcelona Spain Masters 2018: Review
Lee Yong Dae and Kim Gi Jung made a winning comeback to international badminton, capturing the Men’s Doubles title at the Barcelona Spain Masters 2018 on Sunday.
· DEV SUKUMAR
The Koreans (featured image), who were successful with different partners until 2016 – following which they eased out of international competition, only to be seen intermittently – appeared in Barcelona for their first tournament of 2018. They started by beating Dutch duo Jelle Maas/Robin Tabeling 21-17 21-14, followed by a victory over Denmark’s Niclas Nohr/Kasper Antonsen (21-15 21-14), and then French pair Maxime Briot/Kenji Lovang (21-11 21-17) in the quarter-finals.
Their form held in the semi-finals as they dismissed Malaysia’s Chen Tang Jie/Wei Chong Man (21-11 21-17) before storming past Thailand’s Bodin Isara/Maneepong Jongjit in the final, 21-13 21-17.
Denmark and Japan captured two titles each on the last day. Rasmus Gemke won the Men’s Singles, beating top seed Suppanyu Avihingsanon (Thailand) 15-21 21-6 21-14 in the longest match of finals day.