Badminton rising star Jason Gunawan claimed the China Masters men's singles crown on Sunday after beating Lee Cheuk-yiu in an all-Hong Kong, China final.

Gunawan comfortably saw off his senior SAR teammate 21-9, 21-16 in 43 minutes in a much-anticipated showdown in Shenzhen.

In addition to clinching his second career BWF World Tour title, 22-year-old Gunawan walked away with a pay cheque of US$87,500.

Lee, meanwhile, has now finished runner-up five times since winning his last title at the 2019 Hong Kong Open.

His only other World Tour meeting with Gunawan came in the last 16 of the 2024 Korean Open, with Lee winning that affair in three games.

Lee reached the final after beating another SAR veteran Angus Ng and France's second seed Cristo Popov. Gunawan's journey included impressive victories over world number one Jonathan Christie of Indonesia and Denmark's Anders Antonsen.

Sunday marked the first time in more than a decade that two Hong Kong players had clashed in the final of a BWF World Tour event. Eleven years ago, Ng defeated Vincent Wong at the Bitburger Open in Germany for the title.



Edited by Edmond Fong