Hans-Kristian Vittinghus' mission to win his first ever Superseries title was successful as he outlasted Korea's Jeon Hyeok-jin to win the Australian Open (750.000 Dollars) title on Sunday.
The Dane defeated Korean Hyeok-Jin (20) to win his maiden Superseries title. The 30-year-old, ranked 12 in the BWF world ranking, finished strongly to beat Jeon 21-16, 19-21, 21-11 in 71 minutes as he took full control of the decider.
He became the first Dane in the singles competition to win a Superseries tournament in two years and took away a $56,000 cheque as the winner. Vittinghus capped a sublime two-month period with his first career Superseries title and a Thomas Cup trophy.
The 30 year old will rise to a top 10 spot in the BWF world rankings of this week.
„Big victory – but also a big relief“ - Hans-Kristian Vittinghus
"What a moment this is. It is a very big victory for me," said Vittinghus. "And it is also a big relief. I was working very hard for this first Superseries title in the last years and I am happy I finally made it.“
Vittinghus also led Denmark to victory in the fifth and final match of last month's Thomas Cup final against Indonesia in China, the first time a European nation won the most prestigious teams cup competition in badminton.
The finals results:
Australian Open Superseries 2016
MS: Hans-Kristian Vittinghus (DEN) vs Jeon Hyeok-jin (KOR) 21-16, 19-21, 21-11
WS: Saina Nehwal (IND) vs Sun Yu (CHN) 11-21, 21-14, 21-19
MD: Gideon/Sukamuljo (INA) vs Pratama/Suwardi (INA) 21-14, 21-15
WD: Bao/Chen (CHN) vs Maheswari/Polii (INA) 23-21, 21-17
XD: Lu Kai/Huang (CHN) vs Zheng/Chen (CHN) 21-18, 21-14
Article by Manuel Rösler. Photos (LIVE) by BadmintonPhoto.