Smashing his hoodoo

Men's singles star Shi Yuqi's triumphant Paris return headlines Team China's medal-laden worlds campaign, as the celebrated squad vows to keep sharpening its young blades for the LA28 challenge.

With six medals — including two golds — packed in the luggage home and its players reaching finals in all five events, Team China could've left the French capital bragging about an overall success at the BWF World Championships, yet it opted to focus on the losses over the gains, as it pushes ahead with its ambition to restore its Olympic dominance at the Los Angeles Games.

Shi's career-first singles world title, secured by a comeback 2-1 win over his bitter rival Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand on Sunday, helped China reclaim the men's crown 10 years after retired legend Chen Long won China's last in 2015. It was double delight for fans, adding to the gold medal won by women's pair Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning on the same night.

Some unexpected early exits of seeded contenders in Paris, though, raised concerns over the lack of consistency and poise among the team's potential medal hopefuls for the next Olympics.

The crushing second-round loss of world No 1 mixed doubles team Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping, China's highest-ranked women's singles ace Wang Zhiyi's third-round exit and underachieving men's world No 4 Li Shifeng's opening-round defeat were among disappointments that have given Chinese Badminton Association president Zhang Jun mixed feelings.

"It was an overall impressive collective effort, but we did suffer some unexpected setbacks here and there," Zhang said in his post-final assessment of Team China's performance.