China stamped their dominance at the finals of the 2005 Invitational Badminton World Cup in the Central China city yesterday by sweeping all five gold medals on offer.

The new 21-point scoring rule was implemented at the tournament.

The unstoppable mixed doubles pairing of Xie Zhongbo and Zhang Yawen dominated the battle against world champions Widianto Nova and Nastsir Lilyana of Indonesia in a replay of the 2005 World Championships final. The Chinese duo edged out their opponents 21-19, 21-10 to avenge the earlier defeat and claim the title.

"We need a bit more time to get used to the new 21-point scoring rules, as matches become faster and more aggressive," Widianto said after the match.

Current world No.1 Lin Dan frustrated Thailand's Olympic semi-finalist Ponsana Boonsak 21-13, 21-11 to seal the coveted gold for China.

"I was fully focused during the match, and it was a good game," Lin said. "The new scoring system made the game harder to predict, and you can't say that's favorable for me."

"He is faster than I am," explained a timid Boonsak, giving a key reason for the defeat.

In the women's singles final clash, world No.2 Xie Xingfang pulled off a 21-19, 21-16 convincing victory over her compatriot and world and Olympic champion Zhang Ning.

"I think it was a top-class match, and both of us displayed our quality," Xie told reporters.

"We both played well, but I didn't have good control," Zhang said.

Yang Wei and Zhang Jiewen upset another Chinese pair, Wei Yili and Zhang Yawen, 21-18, 21-15 in the women's doubles final while Fu Haifeng and Cai Yun downed Indonesian veterans Wijaya Candra and Budiarto Sigit in the men's doubles final.

(China Daily December 19, 2005)