Wang Zhi Yi wins Badminton Asia Championship

Despite having a back injury, the Chinese world number 16 delivered an hour and a half of exceptional sportsmanship to defeat Japanese top seed and defending champion Yamaguchi 15-21, 21-13, 21-19, sending the Manila crowd into a frenzy.

Wang stuns opponent Yamaguchi after a terrific performance at the finals.

After her semi-final wins on Saturday over second seed An Se-young of South Korea, Wang's confidence expanded as she took a 16-5 lead in the decider. The Japanese player resurfaced as Wang began to make unforced errors, and Yamaguchi finally leveled at 19-19 after an exciting 30-shot rally. However, an injured Wang, who needed a check-up from the trainer at the side of the court, mustered all of her strength to fight back and acquired a championship point before Yamaguchi netted the shuttle. The Chinese champion then became the Asian champion for the first time.

"I think it's something I couldn't have imagined because before the competition everyone including myself didn't think that I could achieve these results," the 22-year-old said in response to being congratulated and interviewed. "This was a very difficult match because my opponent is a world-class athlete, but I think I was in the right frame of mind to battle her. My goal is to win every competition so I hope I can keep up with these better performances, be resolute and work harder." 

World number seven Lee Zii Jia wins the men's singles title.

In the men's singles draw, world number seven Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia bagged his first-ever Asian title after beating Indonesia's Jonatan Christie, 21-17, 23-21. The match progressed in favour of the third seed right from the beginning as Christie, the fourth seed, failed to establish control over his opponent. Although he fought back in the second game, he couldn't convert two game points, and the 24-year-old Lee landed the title on his first championship point when his opponent couldn't deliver a steady forehand.

The Indonesian appealed for an examination of the call. Still, a video review confirmed that it was out, and Lee let himself collapse on the court before tearing off his jersey and flinging it towards the crowd, followed by his racquet. The results turned out to be a source of pride for China as the badminton superpower also won the mixed doubles and women's crowns. 

Indian shuttler Sindhu skips the medal ceremony.

Sindhu was the sole medal winner from India, clinching her second bronze at the event. However, she didn't make it to the medal ceremony. Sindhu's father, PV Ramana, reportedly revealed that she had to travel back due to a time crunch. "Nothing like that [skipped the ceremony in protest], she accepted the medal, it is just that she had to rush for a flight back home, so she took permission from the authorities," he said. "See Sindhu has to go to Uber Cup (May 8-15, Bangkok) and there were no direct flights available from Manila to India for tomorrow and the day after. If she had reached on May 4, she would have missed out on a few days of training ahead of the Uber Cup." In Thailand, the Uber Cup is set to commence on May 8, 2022.