Olympic gold medalist Zhang Ning edged archrival Mia Audina Tjiptawan and China went on to beat the Netherlands 3-0 to win its fifth straight Uber Cup women's world team badminton title and 10th overall on Saturday.
Zhang won the opener of the final 21-18, 19-21, 21-18 in a rematch of the Athens Olympic final against Tjiptawan and world champion Xie Xingfang and Jiang Yanjiao followed with straight-sets wins to complete the sweep at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
World No. 2 Xie followed top-ranked Zhang with a 21-17, 21-18 win over Judith Meulendijks and up-and-coming 19-year-old Jiang sealed victory for the Chinese with a 21-9, 21-7 rout of Rachel van Cutsen.
"I knew it would be a great morale booster for our team if I won the first singles match," said Zhang, who avenged her loss to Tjiptawan in the 1994 final when Tjiptawan made her Uber Cup debut as a member of the triumphant Indonesian national team.
China finished this year's tournament without dropping a match throughout its campaign.
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