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The 2019 Japan Open finals were an exciting affair of competitive badminton. Akane Yamaguchi won the women's singles title, South Korean pair won the women's doubles title while Momota became the champion in men's singles.
Women’s singles
In an all-Japanese final, Akane Yamaguchi defeated Nozomi Okuhara 21-13, 21-15. In the first game, both players fought for each point. Initially Okuhara took the lead but Yamaguchi led marginally at half-time and finally raced towards a big lead to win the first game at 21-13. The second game was a tight one with Okuhara again leading 11-9 but soon Yamaguchi made it 11-11 and continued to make it 13-13 and 15-15. Thereafter, Yamaguchi showed her superiority and took 6 points in succession to win the second game at 21-15.
Women’s doubles
The South Korean pair of Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong defeated the Japanese pair of Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara 21-12, 21-12. It was a dominating performance by the Korean pair who outplayed the number 1 seeded Japanese pair with ease and never gave them a chance to come anywhere close to threatening.
Men’s Singles
Kento Momota defeated Jonatan Christie of Indonesia 21-16, 21-13. In the first game, both players fought for each point till 7-7. Momota showed his class to take an 11-8 lead at the interval. After the break, Momota continued his aggression and won the first game easily. The second game saw Momota dominating Christie right from the word go and never gave him a chance to come back and give him a challenge.
Mixed doubles
Wang Lyu and Huang Dongping of China defeated Praveen Jordan and Oktavianti of Indonesia 21-17, 21-16. The Chinese pair again showed their superiority in shots and placements and made life tough for the Indonesian pair to offer any resistance.
Men’s doubles
Marcus Gideon and Sukamuljo defeated Mohammad Ahsan and Setiawan in a closely-fought match by a score of 21-18, 23-21. In both games, the World number 1 ranked Gideon and Sukamuljo were pushed to the limits but held their nerves to win the title.
