Channel News Asia Camilla's title hopes collapse as Zhang Ning exacts revenge Camilla Martin's hopes of winning back the women's singles title at her last world badminton championship before retirement collapsed dramatically in the quarter-finals on Friday. The 1999 world champion lost the last 16 points in a row to Zhang Ning, the second seeded Chinese player, who exacted revenge for defeat in Tokyo in April when Martin won the Japan Open. This time the 29-year-old Dane was beaten 11-6, 11-0. From 6-8 down in the first game she had no answer to the puzzling maze of shots which Zhang created with flicks, lifts, clears and drops. "She was a different player today," admitted Martin. "She did absolutely nothing wrong. On this performance she is the best player in the tournament and should go on to win the world title." Asked who would take over her mantle as the main challenger to the Chinese, Martin said: "No-one. I think they will dominate for the next five or ten years. "They are very strong and it takes courage to go out there against them. It's not fun watching four Chinese in the semi-finals but I think I have done my part now and someone else must try," she added.
Zhang Ning is an almost totally different player. The rhythm of her footwork has changed. The acceleration is much better so she can chage the pace of the game and keep pressure on her opponent. Looking on that performance, she is a strong contender for the title.
