The French mixed doubles pair were unable to top off a great week in Japan with a title, but the European Champions take a lot of positives from the performances.
Thom Gicquel/ Delphine Delrue had a faultless run to the final, defeating some tricky opponents along the way. A World Tour Super 500 title looked very close with their opponents in the final being the new Thai combination of Dechapol Puavaranukroh/ Supissara Paewsampran.
It was an opportunity missed as the established duo seemed to find their rhythm in the second game, looking to pressure Paewsampran, who admitted nerves this week, and convert opportunities from loose shots.
The Thai pair, however, stayed strong and Puavaranukroh was able to impose his physicality on the rallies and get the win, 21-16, 10-21, 21-17, winning their first title in just three tournaments together.
Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue said to their fans:
-Smiling because it was an amazing week here in Japan but not the end we hoped for. Played some really good badminton along the way.
Alfian/ Ardianto hold on
The top Indonesian pair, Fajar Alfian/ Muhammad Rian Ardianto, were up against it in the men’s doubles final. Despite having the lead in the deciding game, the home crowd were urging Takuro Hoki/ Yugo Kobayashi to catch up to them.
They did at 17-17, however, the two-time All England champions had the know-how to surge to the finishing line, winning 21-15, 17-21, 21-17.
Winners in Kumamoto
The other winners of the second edition of the Kumamoto Masters Japan 2024 were Akane Yamaguchi, who became the first Japanese title winner of the tournament after defeating Gregoria Tunjung 21-12, 21-12. A surprisingly dominant performance compared with their usual three-game rollercoaster matches in recent encounters.
China took home the last two titles with powerful performances. Li Shi Feng, defeated Malaysia’s Leong Jun Hao 21-10, 21-13. Li catapults himself up the rankings and has showed the world that he used the time post-Olympics to develop himself well.
In the women’s doubles, the Olympic silver medallists, Liu Sheng Shu/ Tan Ning, cemented themselves as the ones to beat now in the category, taking the title away from Yuki Fukushima/ Mayu Matsumoto, 21-15, 21-5.
Next, it’s off to Shenzhen for the China Masters.