Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei has openly admitted that it is "getting tougher" by each tournament after she retained her women's singles title in the Wuhan City of Automobile Badminton Asia Championships in Wuhan on Sunday.
In the final Tzu Ying, the top seed, had to bring out her best to defeat China's number six seed Chen Yufei 21-19, 22-20 in 43 minutes to pocket the USDS26,250 in prize money that came with the title.
Chen Yufei, who won 2016 world junior title in Bilbao, Spain, took home USD13,300 while Saina Nehwal of India and Korea's Sung Ji-hyun, the beaten semi-finalists went home USD5,075 richer.
"Times have changed and are changing fast. My opponents have studied my style of play and giving me a really tough time. It is only a matter of time for my opponents catch up on me.
"The times when I thought I am the best with my style of play are no more. Now I have to be wary of each opponent."
"Today's final against Chen Yufei is a good example. It was a very tough match for me in all aspects. I also made a lot mistakes but managed to get back into the game each time.
"Chen Yu fei has come a long way in her game and put me under lot of pressure. I had to tell myself to keep my cool and make the least mistakes. It worked for me," said Tzu Ying after her win.
RESULTS (FINAL)
Women's singles
Tai Tzu Ying (Tpe) beat Chen Yufei (Chn) 21-19, 22-20
Men's doubles
Li Junhui-Liu Yuchen (Chn) beat Takeshi Kamura-Keigo Sonoda (Jpn) 11-21, 21-10, 21-13
