Momota, Intanon reign supreme
Pragya Tiwari, April 04, 2016, New Delhi, DHNS
Badminton India Open : Shuttlers record convincing wins to clinch Superseries title
Ratchanok Intanon can make strokemaking appear effortless. She has feather touch, deceptive drops, and stinging smashes to leave her opponent flat-footed.
All of Li Xuerui’s best fighting skills were not enough to stop the 21-year-old from winning 21-17, 21-18 and clinch her second Yonex Sunrise India Open title at Siri Fort sports complex on Sunday.
In the men’s singles, Japan’s Kento Momota kept the audience riveted with his attacking game and overcame a resurgent Dane Viktor Axelsen 21-15, 21-18 to win his maiden title here. It was the 21-year-old Momota’s fourth Superseries title from as many finals. Before this he had won at Singapore, Indonesia and Dubai last year.
The women’s final was a replay of the 2013 World Championships final where Intanon had beaten Xuerui to become the youngest player to achieve the feat as an 18-year-old. She had also won her maiden title here that year. It was a landmark year for the young Thai who had also reached the All England final. However, injuries and dip in form stalled her rapid march before she finally began to feel comfortable with her game.
Intanon began the year by winning the Thailand Masters in February and followed it up with another sublime performance this day. She also improved her head-to-head against the 2012 Olympic champion Xuerui 4-7. The Chinese came attacking but Intanon dictated the pace of the match by mixing her drops and slices with smashes. Xuerui didn’t help her cause by making a stream of errors but did impress with her ability to stage a comeback from any point.
Intanon led 11-10 in the first game with a sweetly-timed drop before Xuerui caught up with her at 15-15. Intanon, however, surged ahead 19-16 and a service return error from the Chinese gave her the opening game.
The Thai girl continued in the same vein in the second game to open up a 11-6 lead. And though Xuerui unleashed a flurry of smashes to close in, she couldn’t surpass Intanon. A net error from the Chinese handed four match points to Intanon. She lost two of them but sealed the match after coming through in a long rally.
“The shuttle was fast and the focus was to cut down on mistakes. Xuerui is a very attacking player,” said Intanon. “I think I am mentally stronger now. I just want to give my best in the tournaments left before Rio and try and win a medal at the Olympics.”
In the men’s final, Momota kept up the pressure from the start against Axelsen and extended his winning run over the Dane 6-1. The Japanese pocketed the opening game comfortably and cruised in the same fashion in the second.
Results: All Finals: Men’s singles: 2-Kento Momota (Jap) bt 5-Viktor Axelsen (Den) 21-15, 21-18.
Women’s singles: 4-Ratchanok Intanon (Tha) bt 3-Li Xuerui (Chn) 21-17, 21-18.
Women’s doubles: 3-Misaki Matsutomo/ Ayaka Takahashi (Jap) bt Naoko Fukuman/ Kurumi Yonao (Jap) 21-18, 21-18.
Men’s doubles: Gideon Markus Fernaldi/ Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (Ina) bt Angga Pratama/ Ricky Karanda Suwardi (Ina) 21-17, 21-13.
Mixed doubles: 7- Lu Kai/ Huang Yaqiong (Chn) bt Riky Widianto/ Puspita Richi Dili (Ina) 21-13, 21-16.
All of Li Xuerui’s best fighting skills were not enough to stop the 21-year-old from winning 21-17, 21-18 and clinch her second Yonex Sunrise India Open title at Siri Fort sports complex on Sunday.
In the men’s singles, Japan’s Kento Momota kept the audience riveted with his attacking game and overcame a resurgent Dane Viktor Axelsen 21-15, 21-18 to win his maiden title here. It was the 21-year-old Momota’s fourth Superseries title from as many finals. Before this he had won at Singapore, Indonesia and Dubai last year.
The women’s final was a replay of the 2013 World Championships final where Intanon had beaten Xuerui to become the youngest player to achieve the feat as an 18-year-old. She had also won her maiden title here that year. It was a landmark year for the young Thai who had also reached the All England final. However, injuries and dip in form stalled her rapid march before she finally began to feel comfortable with her game.
Intanon began the year by winning the Thailand Masters in February and followed it up with another sublime performance this day. She also improved her head-to-head against the 2012 Olympic champion Xuerui 4-7. The Chinese came attacking but Intanon dictated the pace of the match by mixing her drops and slices with smashes. Xuerui didn’t help her cause by making a stream of errors but did impress with her ability to stage a comeback from any point.
Intanon led 11-10 in the first game with a sweetly-timed drop before Xuerui caught up with her at 15-15. Intanon, however, surged ahead 19-16 and a service return error from the Chinese gave her the opening game.
The Thai girl continued in the same vein in the second game to open up a 11-6 lead. And though Xuerui unleashed a flurry of smashes to close in, she couldn’t surpass Intanon. A net error from the Chinese handed four match points to Intanon. She lost two of them but sealed the match after coming through in a long rally.
“The shuttle was fast and the focus was to cut down on mistakes. Xuerui is a very attacking player,” said Intanon. “I think I am mentally stronger now. I just want to give my best in the tournaments left before Rio and try and win a medal at the Olympics.”
In the men’s final, Momota kept up the pressure from the start against Axelsen and extended his winning run over the Dane 6-1. The Japanese pocketed the opening game comfortably and cruised in the same fashion in the second.
Results: All Finals: Men’s singles: 2-Kento Momota (Jap) bt 5-Viktor Axelsen (Den) 21-15, 21-18.
Women’s singles: 4-Ratchanok Intanon (Tha) bt 3-Li Xuerui (Chn) 21-17, 21-18.
Women’s doubles: 3-Misaki Matsutomo/ Ayaka Takahashi (Jap) bt Naoko Fukuman/ Kurumi Yonao (Jap) 21-18, 21-18.
Men’s doubles: Gideon Markus Fernaldi/ Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (Ina) bt Angga Pratama/ Ricky Karanda Suwardi (Ina) 21-17, 21-13.
Mixed doubles: 7- Lu Kai/ Huang Yaqiong (Chn) bt Riky Widianto/ Puspita Richi Dili (Ina) 21-13, 21-16.
No comments:
Post a Comment