Denmark Open 2022, finals day: as it happened

China won four titles out of five on finals day at the 2022 Denmark Open in Odense on Sunday (23 October).

Two of those were all-Chinese finals with Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong taking the mixed doubles crown, and He Bingjiao defeating Chen Yufei in the women's singles.

Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan won their sixth title from six final appearance this year in the women's doubles, before Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto took a thrilling all-Indonesian men's doubles final.

And to cap things off, Shi Yuqi returned from the wilderness to beat Lee Zii Jia and claim his first title for three years.

Read on to find out what happened on the final day in Odense.

Shi Yuqi ends three-year title drought to complete great day for China

Shi Yuqi was fully committed to attack in the decider against Lee Zii Jia.

The Malaysian, so often the aggressor, was on the back foot as the former world number two surged into a 11-5 lead at the final mid-game interval.

Shi kept up the intensity after the break with Lee unable to haul himself back into the match.

World Championship runner-up in 2018, 26-year-old Shi showed that he could be again ready to challenge for major titles as he completed victory 21-18, 16-21, 21-12.

After converting his first match point at the end of an hour and four minutes' play, Shi shared warm embraces with his coaches in what could be the start of his return to the big time.

Leaving aside the four titles this season for world and Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen, the other 12 tournaments have now gone to 12 different men.

Shi thanked his teammates and coaches and the crowd afterwards, saying, "I'm so excited to win this title and clear this first hurdle. When the match finished, I felt the tears come."

All square in intriguing men's singles final

Lee Zii Jia came out firing at the start of game two, going into a 5-0 lead.

Shi Yuqi soon raised his level and began forcing errors from his Malaysian opponent, but he could not stop Lee taking an 11-7 advantage into the break.

The Chinese continued his revival after the restart, closing the gap to one before Lee's fortunate net cord on return put him 13-11 up.

Lee's timing on his overheads deserted him briefly, but he managed to rediscover his touch to establish a five-point lead before taking the game 21-16.

Will Shi make it four titles for China in Odense, or can Lee claim the crown?

Shi Yuqi on track to end title drought

Lee Zii Jia and Shi Yuqi are really bringing out the best of each other in this men's singles final.

This is Asian champion Lee's second World Tour final of the year and he took the last meeting between the two with Shi 2-1 up in their head-to-head.

Lee's power saw him take an 11-9 lead into the mid-game interval but Shi refused to go away.

The former world silver medallist, recently back from a year ban after quitting against Momota Kento when match point down, won three consecutive points from 14-14 to take the initiative.

And after failing to convert three game points, Shi took it 21-18 to put him on the brink of a first title since the 2019 Swiss Open.

He Bingjiao secures women's singles title

Both players came out at a lightning-fast pace in the decider with He Bingjiao showing great commitment to attack.

The left-hander capitalised on anything short from Chen Yufei as she went out into a 10-2 lead which became 11-4 at the break.

The 25-year-old continued to press home her advantage with the Olympic champion unable to respond in the rematch of their Tokyo 2020 semi-final.

He won 22-20, 12-21, 21-10 in an hour and seven minutes to claim her third title of the year, all of them achieved via final victories over compatriot Chen.

Now there is just one match remaining in Odense with Shi Yuqi hoping to make it four triumphs for China on the day against Lee Zii Jia.

Chen Yufei takes women's final into decider

After dropping the first game, Olympic champ Chen Yufei fairly raced out of the blocks in game two to take an 11-3 lead into the break.

He Bingjiao won the first five points after the restart but, this time, Chen was able to stay clear.

She won it 21-12 in 18 minutes on her second game point opportunity to level the match.

It's now a one-game shootout for the Denmark Open women's singles crown in Odense. 

The last Chinese to win this title was London 2012 Olympic champion Li Xuerui who defeated PV Sindhu back in 2015.

He Bingjiao rallies to take opening game of women's singles final

He Bingjiao has won two World Tour finals so far this year with both victories coming against the Olympic champion Chen Yufei.

Things did not look great for her early on with Chen's power from the back of the court proving the difference early on.

Chen led 11-7 at the break, and kept the hammer down after that as He occasionally missed the lines.

But at 17-11, it was Chen's turn to make mistakes with the left-hander reeling off the next six points to level the match.

It was tight after that, but Chen went wide with a smash to hand He the game 22-20 on her second opportunity.

Alfian and Ardianto claim victory after second game nailbiter

The second game started in similar fashion to the first with Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo taking an 11-6 lead into the break.

It looked like history might be about to repeat itself when Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto won three consecutive points from 12-17 down.

But relentless attacking from Gideon and Sukamuljo stopped the rot and they brought up game point at 20-17.

Two opportunities came and went before Sukamuljo went long with an overhead to make it 20-20, using the last of their challenges.

And there was controversy on the very next point when Alfian appeared to send an easy putaway wide, but it was given as good by the line judge with the Minions unable to challenge.

That brought up match point, but it was squandered by a service fault from Alfian as the tension reached unbearable levels.

Ardianto then played a fine defensive shot which dropped in, with Sukamuljo leaving it, before he produced a service error of his own.

Alfian went long with a service return to hand the Minions a fourth game point but they missed it.

On they went with the score reaching 26-26 after Sukamuljo missed what looked like a routine smash at the net.

And it was Alfian and Ardianto who, after saving six game points, converted their third match point to win 21-19, 28-26.

This is their fourth title of the year and their first at Super 750 level.

Alfian/Ardianto fight back to take first game of men's doubles final

It's an all-Indonesian affair in the men's double final with Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto up against the 'Minions', Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo.

The Minions were 11-8 up at the break and looked to have the game at their mercy when they went into a 17-11 lead.

But their compatriots roared back, taking the next seven points to go into the lead. And Alfian and Ardianto went on to take the opener 21-19 in what must be a big psychological blow to the second seeds.

Chen/Jia secure women's doubles crown

Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan made it two Chinese titles out of two in Odense in the women's doubles.

Their greater attacking intent saw them get the better of Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee 21-12, 21-15 in 40 minutes.

Jia was the star of the match and produced a point to remember with her side 17-13 in front and trying to withstand a spirited fightback from the Koreans who had both won this title in the past with different partners.

Immediately after a miraculous retrieval, the left-hander smashed home a winner which left her opponents looking skywards with a mix of disbelief and admiration.

Baek and Lee saved two match points, but Chen and Jia soon closed it out with Chen claiming her first Denmark Open title after being on the losing side in three previous finals in women's and mixed doubles.

Chen/Jia draw first blood in women's doubles final

It's looking good for China as they bid for four titles on the final day in Odense.

Three-time world champions Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan are well in charge against unseeded Koreans Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee.

After trailing 8-9, the Chinese reeled off three straight points to take an 11-8 lead into the mid-game interval. And they finished the game strongly, winning eight of the last nine points to take it 21-12.

Zheng and Huang come through thriller to clinch eighth title of 2022

Welcome along to finals day in Odense. No home interest to speak of, but China have a chance of four titles on this Sunday (23 October).

They were sure to win the first encounter of the day in the mixed doubles, and victory eventually went to world champions Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong.

Zheng and Huang took the first game and had two championship points in game two, but the relatively new pairing of Feng Yanzhe and Olympic champion Huang Dongping managed to force a decider.

The third game was full of tension and excitement, and it was Zheng and Huang who converted their fourth match point to triumph 21-19, 20-22, 21-19 and claim their second Denmark Open title four years after their first.

Denmark Open 2022 finals day schedule and results:

XD: 3-Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong (CHN) def. Feng Yanzhe/Huang Dongping (CHN) 21-19, 20-22, 21-19.

WD: 1-Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan (CHN) def. Baek Ha Na/Lee So Hee (KOR) 21-12, 21-15.

MD: 5-Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto (INA) def. 2-Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (INA) 21-19, 28-26.

WS: 8-He Bingjiao (CHN) def. 3-Chen Yufei (CHN) 22-20, 12-21, 21-10.

MS: Shi Yuqi (CHN) def. 4-Lee Zii Jia (MAL)  21-18, 16-21, 21-12.