Pocketing four of the five titles on offer, China matched their incredible efforts from 13 years ago at KFF Singapore Open 2024 on Sunday.

Having done it in 2011, they became the first nation to complete a quadruple twice in the Open era (starting 1980) at the tournament. Indonesia, in 1997, were the only other country to pull it off.

On-song men’s pair He Ji Ting/Ren Xiang Yu outgunned seventh seeds Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto in straight games (21-19 21-14) to round an almost perfect day for the Chinese started by Zheng Si Wei/Huang Ya Qiong’s 21-11 21-19 win over surprise finalists Yang Po-Hsuan/Hu Ling Fang.

He/Ren’s first Super 750 title comes weeks after they delivered China the winning point in the 3-1 Thomas Cup final victory, also against Indonesia, in Chengdu.

Ren was delighted he and his partner could finish the job of sending China into the Singapore Open annals.

“I’m pleased we were able to obtain gold,” said the 25-year-old. “Everyone has done their best to clinch this record and I feel very happy about it.

“We prepared well and in terms of execution and playing to our strengths and speed, we were excellent.”

Zheng/Huang’s 30-minute victory had set the tone for Team China, with Chen Qing/Jia Yi Fan also sealing their second consecutive triumph in two games, beating Nami Matsuyama/Chiharu Shida 21-15 21-12.

Shi Yu Qi’s men’s singles success – the first for China after Chen Jin’s in 2011 – was the icing on the cake. The title was confirmed a day early, following the withdrawal of top seed Viktor Axelsen from his semifinal against Li Shi Feng.

The only non-Chinese winner was women’s singles defending champion An Se Young, whose on-court heroics saw her hurdle over the challenge provided by Olympic gold medallist Chen Yu Fei 21-19 16-21 21-12.

“Before I went out, I was thinking I had to give a performance that matched the intensity of a final. The wind was strong so I was just focusing on controlling the shuttle, adapting to the draft and fulfilling my coach’s demands. All that led to the good result,” said the world No.1 Korean.

→ Results (Finals)

WHAT OTHERS SAID:

“We didn’t do too well in Singapore when we were younger. As we grew and gained experience, we adapted and got better at dealing with the windy conditions.” – Jia after she and Chen became the first women’s pair since compatriots Yang Wei/Zhang Jiewen in 2004 to defend their title

“We trust each other a lot. On court, we are like one plus one equals more than two.” – Zheng after winning in Singapore for the first time