Japanese pairs tie their own longest match record

By
Don Hearn
– March 20, 2016Posted in: news
Japan’s Naoko Fukuman / Kurumi Yonao and Shizuka Matsuo / Mami Naito have tied their record for the longest match so far in 2016 in a major tournament.  After playing […]
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Japan’s Naoko Fukuman / Kurumi Yonao and Shizuka Matsuo / Mami Naito have tied their record for the longest match so far in 2016 in a major tournament.  After playing a 102-minute marathon in the All England second round, the two pairs have put in another one hour and 42 minute appearance, this time in the final of the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold.  Matsuo/Naito got the upper hand this time, winning 21-16, 12-21, 21-12.

The scores in this and their other 100-plus matches this month were nowhere near as close as their first encounter, in January of last year.  That time, Fukuman/Yonao won 23-21, 20-22, 21-18 in only one hour and 31 minutes, starting off a three-match winning streak for the younger pair that only ended today.

Photo: Francois Dionisi (live from the Swiss Open semi-finals)

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Don Hearn

About Don Hearn

Don Hearn is an Editor and Correspondent who hails from a badminton-loving town in rural Canada. He joined the Badzine team in 2006 to provide coverage of the Korean badminton scene and is committed to helping Badzine to promote badminton to the place it deserves as a global sport. Contact him at: don @ badzine.net