Tai Tzu-ying has become the first Taiwanese athlete to win the Badminton World Federation's World Superseries Finals. Tai breezed past her South Korean opponent on Sunday to grab the title.
Tai was ranked ninth in the world going into the match; she beat a South Korean athlete, who was ranked fifth in the world, in two straight games in the final match in Dubai. In addition to winning the title, Tai also walked away with US$80,000 in prize money.
Tsai attributed her win not to her own ability, though. She said her opponent did not play her best and made several costly mistakes. But Tai's coach said that Tai had won because of her dominance from the start.
The five-day year-end tournament began Dec. 17 in Dubai. Top eight players with the best overall performance in the BWF Superseries during the past year were invited.