TOUGH TRIUMPHS
It was a day that saw two compelling battles in the singles finals of the Dubai World Superseries Finals. First it was the rising Japanese star Akane Yamaguchi who staged an unforgettable come-from-behind three-set (15-21, 21-12, 2119) win over Indian star PV Sindhu to clinch the women’s singles title.
Then, in an epic clash of generations, the 23-year-old Viktor Axelsen dug deep into his reserves to extinguish the fire in Malaysian veteran Lee Chong Wei to defend his Dubai title at Hamdan Sports Complex.
Axelsen, who won his first World Championship in August this year, hit top form after losing the first set to complete a memorable 19-21, 21-19, 21-15 victory over the 35-year-old Lee, a four-time winner of the tournament.
“Yes, it’s an amazing feeling. Every athlete loves to win. I am very happy at the moment and I feel pretty awesome to be honest especially after such an amazing game with Lee Chong Wei,” Axelsen told reporters after his second straight victory in the season-ending championships. “You know this is what you dream of when you are a small kid playing badminton. You always want to play the finals likes these against champions like Lee. I am just really happy,” the world number one said.
It was Lee, one of the greatest shuttlers in history, who took the hard-fought first set in 45 minutes.
“I didn’t play really well in the first set. Then afterwards I tried to put on the positive elements of my game and worked really hard to win. I am really proud of this win. I will remember moments like these for the rest of my life.”
Lee, on the other hand, left Dubai with the promise to continue doing what he does best. “Overall it was a good tournament for me. I will take some rest now and prepare well for the next year,” Lee said.
“Thanks to all the Malaysian fans who have always supported me. I want to keep playing. There are so many big competitions next year. Hopefully I can continue to play well,” he added. In the women’s singles final, Yamaguchi stunned title favourite Sindhu with her never-say-die spirit. After losing the first set, she was trailing 5-0 in the second only to stage an unbelievable fightback to take the match to the third set.
In the tight decider, the 20-yearold Yamaguchi held her nerve on the big points to win the biggest tournament of her career. “I am very happy that I could beat her today (Sunday) because I lost to her in the group game. And it feels great to win such a challenging, long match. This is undoubtedly the biggest win of my career,” Yamaguchi said.
“There were long rallies and I was in control of most of those rallies. So that gave me the confidence. Also, I knew that she was getting tired. She got a bit slower as the match went on. I had enough energy for a match like this and I had practised a lot for this game against Sindhu and the practice brought me good result,” she said.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo took the men’s doubles title with a 21-16, 21-15 win over China’s Liu Cheng and Zhang Nan in the final.
It was an all-Japanese affair in the women’s doubles final as Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota beat Shiko Tanaka and Koharu Yonemoto 21-16, 21-15.
China’s Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen defended their mixed doubles title with a 21-15, 22-20 win over Hong Kong’s Tang Chun Man and Tse Zing Suet in the final.