SUPERSERIES FINALS 2015 – Japan on top

Superseries kings and queens were chosen after some excellent fights at the Superseries Finals in the Hamdan Sport Complex in Dubai. Unexpectedly, Japan came out as the big winner of these final games, sending a very strong message to their opponents for the next Olympics, since Kento Momota and Nozomi Okuhara literally dominated the whole competition with incredible ease.

By Tarek Hafi. Photos: Badmintonphoto (live)

The new wave

The final of all took place today in Dubai, with some big names nominated to top the hierarchy of this year’s twelve-tournament Superseries. One name, in particular stood out from the list of winners and that was Nozomi Okuhara (pictured), considering how the young Japanese player dictated the whole tournament.

The twenty year-old, born in the Nagano prefecture, faced the heavily experienced Wang Yihan in a tremendous final, where the latter displayed her diverse repertoire of shots in front of Okuhara’s unsinkable game. Nozomi Okuhara showed an infinite eagerness throughout the whole match, retrieving every possible shuttle, despite having the tall Chinese player, throwing lethal shots to her opponent.

Despite having the Chinese coming back level in the first game, Okuhara kept her focus, saved a game point, and enjoyed few net shots siding with her as she grabbed the opening game 22-20. In the second game, Okuhara brought the match to another level, stamina-wise, sending every possible shuttle to the other side, building unbreakable walls, rendering Wang Yihan unable to keep up with her inhuman pace.  After she closed out the second game 21-18, the smiling Nozomi Okuhara then couldn’t stop her tears, shouting a very sincere “Thank you” into the camera, with a huge joyful aura surrounding the new World Superseries women’s singles champion.

Right afterward, her compatriot Kento Momota (pictured), went on to mark history as well in a unequal final against Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen. The Dane, who created the upset of the day yesterday when he defeated the undisputed world #1 Chen long, was totally unable to display more of that form in his first final at the World Superseries Finals. The twenty-one year-old Japanese talent did not let his concentration fade, but instead did everything possible to make his opponent frustrated. A one-sided match then carried on, to offer a historic win, to the heir that is Kento Momota, who won it 21-15, 21-12.

The Adcocks’ royal court

Delightedly, European badminton aficionados were given a chance to support players from their own continent in three matches on Sunday.  With the glamorous Adcock couple from England, they had even better than that.  The Brits took on the in-form Korean pair of Ko Sung Hyun and Kim Ha Na, who had appeared more efficient than ever, reaching the final stage, after winning all of their encounters to become the favourites to take the title in Dubai. However, despite having lost all the three previous encounters to the Koreans, Gabrielle and Chris Adcock (pictured) displayed a fantastic tactical game, with an incredible court coverage from Chris Adcock, while his wife Gabrielle besieged the net area. The English representatives, sealed the deal at the net with a 21-14, 21-17 scoreline.

The World for the Indonesians

The World Championship crown was again just not enough to satsify Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan as they fought for their lives to take the World Superseries Finals trophy home against last year’s runner-up Chao Biao and Hong Wei (pictured). The Chinese, who certainly wished to conclude the week on a higher step than 2014, were shown the silver medal direction by the hyper-talented Indonesian duo, ready to regain their fantastic aura.

Indeed, despite some inconsistent results, Ahsan and Setiawan showed once more their magnificent shots and talent to come back from a game down – after the opening game was quickly earned by the Chinese 13-21 – and regain their mental strength to finish each of the remaining two games off by scores of 21-14. The world #2 are directly threatening their opponents for both the next big tournament, the 2016 All England, and beyond.

Unfortunately for all women’s doubles fans, the Danes were physically unable to reach the end of the line, as Christinna Pedersen, who woke up Sunday morning with serious stomach pain, managed to play only until halfway through the match. Forced to withdraw, Pedersen and Kamilla Rytter Juhl gave the victory to their opponents China’s twins, Luo Yu and Luo Ying (pictured bottom), who thus concluded their successful year on a positive note.  The victory should put the twins into the world #1 spot for the first time in their careers.

Final results
WD: Luo Ying / Luo Yu (CHN) [1] beat Christinna Pedersen / Kamilla Rytter Juhl (DEN) [2]  14-21, 21-9, 14-4 [Retired]
XD: Chris Adcock / Gabrielle Adcock (ENG) beat Ko Sung Hyun / Kim Ha Na (KOR) [3]   21-14, 21-17
WS: Nozomi Okuhara (JPN) [4] beat Wang Yihan (CHN) [3]  22-20, 21-18
MS: Kento Momota (JPN) [2] beat Viktor Axelsen (DEN) [4]  21-15, 21-12
MD: Mohammad Ahsan / Hendra Setiawan (INA) beat Chai Biao / Hong Wei (CHN) [4]  13-21, 21-14, 21-14

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