China's Chen Yu saved two match points on his way to a thrilling 21-17 21-23 22-20 victory over compatriot Chen Jin in the men's singles final at the Thailand Open badminton on Sunday.
Chen Yu started well and held the upper hand in the first game but his opponent forced a string of errors in the second to take control of the contest.
Trailing by 11 points at one stage, Chen Yu pulled back to 20-20 with a combination of stinging back court returns and light lifts over the net, but Chen Jin held on to level the match.
Buoyed up by his success, Chen Jin opened up another lead in the decider but Chen Yu kept his composure and staved off a pair of match points before sealing victory.
"Playing against my team mate made the match very tough mentally," Chen Yu told Reuters.
"My advantage was my mental strength. I kept it together when it most mattered and that's what won me the title."
China enjoyed more success when Zhu Lin took the women's singles title with a 21-13 18-21 21-15 defeat of inexperienced South Korean Hwang Hye-youn, whose dream run ended after she had seen off the top two seeds in earlier rounds.
Zhu looked set to dominate the match after taking the opening game but the tenacious Hwang, playing in her first major tournament final, chased every return to push the Chinese to a third game.




















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