BWF Arctic Open 2024: Chou Tien-Chen beats Jonatan Christie in tightly fought men's singles final

Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien-Chen captured his 10th World Tour badminton title with a hard-fought 21-18, 21-17 win over Jonatan Christie in their men’s singles final clash at the BWF Arctic Open 2024 on Sunday (13 October).

Chou came from behind in the second game after narrowly winning the first to clinch a first Super 500 crown since his 2019 Thailand victory.

Nothing separated the two star shuttlers with Christie enjoying a narrow one-point lead at the midway break in the first game. Chou found his groove edging ahead by two points, which ultimately sparked a tit-for-tat battle until the bitter end.

The duo were level at 17-17 before Chou again found the advantage which proved enough to take the first game.

Christie took the initiative in the second as he opened an early four-point lead with Chou playing catch-up. The reigning All England Open champion was in the driving seat at the midway recess and looked set to enforce the third and deciding game. But the tenacious Chou would not be denied as he clawed his way back into contention taking the lead for the first time in the second game at 17-16.

The players exchanged points before Chou established a crucial two-point cushion, ultimately proving too much for Christie to erase.

In the women’s singles final, the People’s Republic of China’s Han Yue successfully defended her title with a 21-10, 21-13 win over Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon.

Han needed less than 40 minutes to seal the victory in straight games over the former world champion.

The Chinese shuttler started conservatively with the scores level at 5-5 before Han went on a 14-point run. In the second game, Han slowly but surely built her advantage before opening the gap, scoring five consecutive points for a 20-11 lead.

Intanon launched a late charge but it was too late to stop Han’s march to victory.