China 145;record146; Sudirman win

China lifted the Sudirman Cup for a record sixth time here today after a 3-0 win over Indonesia in the final of the 10th world team championships. The opening mixed doubles rubber was extremely close, but China8217;s Gao Ling and Zheng Bo recovered from dropping the opening game to beat Limpele Flandy and Vita Marisaa 19-21, 21-17, 21-19.

China then romped away with the next two rubbers to confirm their standing as the world8217;s dominant badminton nation. Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng beat Kido Markis and Candra Wijaya 21-11, 21-13 and Olympic champion Zhang Ning clinched the Cup 21-16, 21-9 against Adriyanta Fridasari.

The result was a repeat of the 3-0 victory over Indonesia when the championships were last played in Beijing in 2005, and Chinese coach Li Yongbo was highly satisfied with his team8217;s performance.

8220;We came here to defend the Cup and it8217;s good to have done it,8221; he said.

8220;This is all part of our preparation for the Olympic Games in Beijing next year.8221;

The disappointment was that the huge crowd and the worldwide television audience were denied the chance of a contest between China8217;s world champion Lin Dan and Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat.