Sakura Mori wins India Open crown
Sakura Mori of Japan overcame Swedish rival Ekholm Matilda to win the women's singles title at the ITTF World Tour India Open, here on Sunday.
Rankings wise, there was very little to separate both the players with the Swede ranked 32 and the Japanese 35.
Matilda had come into the final high on confidence, having won the doubles final alongside Hungary's Georgina Pota earlier this evening. She had also knocked the top seed out of the competition in the semifinals on Saturday.
In the final, her played lacked the intensity she showed against the top seed while Mori was screaming after winning point as if her life depended on it.
Mori could have finished the final earlier had she not played safe while leading 8-5 in the sixth game. Matilda pounced on the opening to stretch the contest to the seventh game.
However, it was all Mori in the decider as she took a 6-0 lead before completing a 7-11, 11-5, 11-8, 12-10, 6-11, 8-11, 11-6 victory.
It ended up a double delight for the Japanese, who had also won the U-21 title here.
Women’s singles: [6] Sakura Mori (JPN) Beat [4] Matilda Ekholm (SWE) 7-11, 11-5, 11-8, 12-10, 6-11, 8-11, 11-6. Women's Doubles: [4]Matilda Ekholm (SWE)/[3] Georgina Pota (HUN) Beat [1] Hoi Kem Doo (HKG)/[2] Ho Ching Lee (HKG) - 9-11, 11-3, 5-11, 14-12, 11-8.
Men's Doubles: [9] Masataka Morizono (JPN)/[5] Yuya Oshima (JPN) Beat [10] Ruwen Filus (GER)/[12] Ricardo Walther (GER) 9-11, 117, 11-6, 11-9.
Meanwhile Thirteen-yearold Japanese sensation Tomokazu Harimoto ended Sharath Kamal's impressive run at the ITTF World Tour India Open, surprising the home hero in the men's singles semifinals here. The reigning Junior World Champion showed exemplary skills to outplay his 34year-old opponent 11-7, 5-11, 11-7, 11-13, 11-9, 11-9 in a latenight match at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex. The loss
notwithstanding, it was a memorable tournament for Kamal who reached his first ITTF World Tour semifinal since the series (formerly called Pro Tour) was rechristened in 2012.
The Japanese, on the other hand, has had a dream run and meets top seed Dimitrij Ovtcharov in the final. Harimoto took Kamal by surprise from the outset with his speed and agility around the table. The boy whipped winners at will and his over the table forehand flicks came at lightening speeds.
Kamal knew he had to slow things down to make a match of it. The Indian did just that and with more accuracy in his drives, took an 8-2 lead in the second game before levelling the match. A similar pattern followed in the next two games with Harimoto on an all out attack and Kamal trying to find a way to contain him so that he could play his own game. The crowd favourite seemed down and out in the fourth at 8-10 but found a way to equal the match once again. In the fifth, Kamal made far too many unforced errors before he netted a backhand serve on 9-10. The sixth game too was fiercely fought but Harimoto just proved too good in the end.