The Danes ended up as the runner-ups at the French Open Super 750 tournament.
Mathias Christiansen/ Alexandra Bøje have had moderate success at the elite level so far. Their best result had been a bronze at the 2021 European Championships. However, they surprised many badminton fans by playing their best-ever badminton to reach a Super 750 final for the first time. The Danish pair got the better of Tang Chun Man/ Tse Ying Suet in the semifinals.
Unfortunately, they were outclassed yesterday by one of the world’s best pair: the reigning All England and Denmark Open champions, Yuta Watanabe/ Arisa Higashino. It was a one-way traffic in the opener as the Danes struggled to settle into the match. They gave a stronger performance in the second, but it was not quite enough to scare the current Olympic bronze medallists on Halloween.
The Japanese won their second consecutive tournament in two weeks: 21-8, 21-17.
Emphatic success for Japan
The badminton powerhouse Japan repeated their success at the recently-concluded Denmark Open by winning three out of five titles in France as well. Other than their top mixed doubles pair, Japan’s women’s singles ace Akane Yamaguchi also stood atop the podium again. Having outmaneuvered the talented An Se Young in the semifinals, she convincingly beat her compatriot Sayaka Takahashi in an all-Japanese final. Takahashi had reached the final by beating the reigning World Champion Pusarla V. Sindhu in the semifinal. The match was over in two straight games: 21-18, 21-12.
Kanta Tsuneyama scored victory for Japan in the men’s singles. He got the better of an exhausted Chou Tien Chen in the final. Following the retirement of a physically struggling Kento Momota, Tsuneyama delivered the win for Japan in lieu of the world number one. The surprise winner came back from a one-game deficit the win the title: 15-21, 21-8, 21-17.
Two titles for Korea
Until a few years back, Korea had great depth in all the doubles categories. This year’s tournament saw the resurgence of the 2014 men’s doubles World Champions Ko Sung Hyun/ Shin Baek Cheol. They got the better of the world number ones Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/ Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo in two straight games. The Koreans stepped up their attack as they subdued the Indonesians through their aggressive play to win 21-17, 22-20. As a result, the Minions still wait for a title after the resumption of badminton.
In an all-Korean women’s doubles final, Denmark Open runner-ups Lee Sohee/ Shin Seungchan defeated their compatriots Kim Soyeong/ Kong Heeyong once again to lift the trophy. The top seeds extended their record against the Tokyo bronze medallists to 6-3 as they won 21-17, 21-12.