India, Nov. 6 -- When it comes to celebrating a title on a badminton court, there are a few staples.

There have been players who will sink to the surface, allowing the emotions they worked desperately hard to keep in check finally be free. Some would charge towards their coach's box. Some break into a dance.

On Thursday night at the Dakar Arena, China's Zhang Yi Xin for a brief moment, looked shell-shocked. In her moment of triumph, the first thing she did was bend down to scoop up the shuttlecock with her racquet, as if to check once again if the shot had indeed landed out. When she gathered her thoughts, she turned towards her coach before stopping and instead approached the net to greet her opponent, India's Tanvi Patri.

The festivi...