It may have been a surprise last week when German's flamboyant star, Mark Zwiebler, took down the Olympic Gold medalist Taufik Hidayat at the US Open.
But when Zwiebler handled Indonesia's Hidayat in two comfortable sets this week, the badminton world calmly accepted the arrival of the German into the world's best singles players.
"I have a flight in one hour and I have to get back home for my dad's 60th birthday, so I have a double reason to celebrate," said the German after clinching the Canadian Open title at the Richmond Olympic Oval 21-13, 25-23.
"Thank you, Richmond and thank you, Canada. This week is special in my career."
But the match that got the crowd revved up was soon to come in the men's doubles final, as Korea's golden boy, Lee Yong Dae, and new partner, Sung Hyun Ko, faced off with an entire section of Korean fans in their corner.
Their opponents were a powerful combo from China, Xiaolong Liu and Zihan Qiu, who had the remaining 70 per cent of the crowd on their side.
In a seesaw match that showed the highest speed available in today's badminton, Dae proved to be the difference as the Korean crowd chanted continuously until the final point fell with a score of 21-18, 21-16.
In the women's singles final, Chinese Taipei's Shao Chieh Cheng won 21-15, 21-11 against France's [FRA] Hongyan Pi.
Having set Canadian badminton records for attendance and ticket sales, the event was certainly the largest in the sport's national history and promises to be bigger and better as the years continue.
