World no. 3 Wang Yihan of China suffered a shocking 21-17, 21-8 upset loss to unseeded Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan in the Women's Singles Final of the 2016 Indonesia Open Super Series Premier on Sunday held at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta.
The 28-year-old former world no. 1 was outpointed by the 21-year-old world no. 9 from the start of their match as Tai claimed the title in just 34 minutes versus Wang, Xinhuanet reported.
Wang, who was the tournament's fourth seed and its champion in 2011, was the hands-down favorite to win again the Women's Singles crown this year after defeating first seed and current world no. 1 Carolina Marin in the semifinals, 16-21, 21-11, and 21-17.
The victory over the 22-year-old Spanish shuttler seemed to have taken its toll on Wang as she was out of form in the beginning of her match against Tai.
Wang seemed to be surprised by his younger opponent's aggressiveness right off the bat and was unable to stay at par with her as fatigue and the pressure to win gradually overwhelmed her while the match wore on.
Meanwhile, Tai breezed through her own semis assignment, beating Wang's compatriot, Wang Shixian in straight sets, 21-9, 21-15, to enter the final.
The Kaohsiung, Taiwan native acknowledged that she was fresher than her more illustrious rival entering the championship game and she took advantage of Wang's tiredness during the match, making her run from side to side.
"I know Wang was exhausted from her previous tough matches, while I'm not in such a condition," Tai told reporters during an interview after the game.
In the quarterfinals, Wang was also stretched to the limit by 24-year-old South Korean Sung Ji-hyun, 21-18, 13-21, and 22-20. Being in two straight draining matches may have sapped the Shanghai, China native's strength and conditioning for the final game.
As for Tai, Focus Taiwan noted that it was the first ever Indonesia Super Series title for the current top Taiwanese badminton player as she also won the 2014 BWF Superseries Finals against Ji-hyun, 21-17, 21-12.
The win was the eighth individual title for Tai in her young career.