BADMINTON – Minoru Koga, of Japan, clinched the men’s singles crown at the Al Sharif Group Bahrain International Challenge Badminton Tournament by defeating compatriot Riki Takei, 11-21, 21-15, 21-18, in an absorbing three-set final at the Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam (BKS) last night.
Koga turned the game on its head after Takei had easily taken the first set, racing to a 6-3 lead in the second and extending it to a four-point advantage at 12-8.
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A packed hall cheered on both players as the battle intensified with Takei winning the next three points to reduce the deficit to just one, at 12-11.
But Koga pulled away again to lead 18-15 before closing the set out to level the match at 1-1.
As soon as the third set began, Koga built on the momentum he had gained and soon sped to a 14-9 lead. Before long, he led 17-14 and, shortly thereafter, served for the match, at 20-17.
Takei hadn’t given up, though, and picked up the next point to delay Koga’s inevitable victory celebration by a couple of minutes.
And Chen Lu, of China, won her second women’s singles titles in Bahrain inside a week when she defeated compatriot Wu Luo Yu, 21-19, 18-21, 21-11, in a three-set final that lasted more than an hour.
Chen looked in supreme touch in the first set as she displayed the fine form which won her the Bahrain International Series women’s title at the Indian Club last week.
But she hadn’t reckoned for a determined Wu, who matched her stroke-for-stroke until, with the scores level at 18-18, Chen managed to edge ahead to take the first set.
Wu started strongly in the second set, taking a 4-0 lead before Chen drew level at 8-8. But Wu was on the offensive now and, before long, led 18-12
Chen suddenly picked up five points in a row to move within touching distance of her opponent, at 17-18, but Wu eventually managed to close out the set.
With the match tied at one-all, Wu took an early, 5-3, lead in the third set but Chen then surged into a 10-7 lead.
Before long, she was within sight of victory, at 19-11, and duly wrapped up a hard-fought win just minutes later.
Later, there was to be heartbreak for the predominantly Indian crowd as fan favourites, India’s Krishna Prasad Garaga and Sai Pratheek succumbed to the Japanese pair of Kazuki Shibata and Naoki Yamada who turned a first-set debacle into a stunning, come-from-behind, 16-21, 21-17, 21-15, victory.
Garaga and Pratheek had looked so much in command as they easily took the first set that their supporters, who had cheered on every point, had doubtless begun to believe that they would repeat the same performance in the second set.
Instead, Shibata and Yamada produced some power badminton to take the second set before starting a fascinating duel with their opponents in the third.
Every time the Japanese pair surged one point ahead, the Indian duo would draw level again with this pattern persisting until the score reached 13-13.
Shibata and Yamada then managed to take a four-point lead, at 18-14, before serving for the match, at 20-15, and shouted triumphantly when they won.
Meanwhile, Bulgarian sisters Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva won the women’s doubles final by defeating Japan’s Kolona Ishikawa and Mio Konegawa, 21-19, 21-14, in straight sets.
The Bulgarians dominated the first set, marching to a 14-10 lead before serving for it at 20-17.
But the Japanese duo saved two game points before the Stoevas were able to close the set out.
The game heated up in the second set with both pairs not allowing their opponents to sneak ahead until, after the score had been levelLed again, at 9-9, the Japanese pair edged ahead, 12-10.
Shortly thereafter, however, the Stoeva sisters had stolen the lead again, at 13-12, and they increased their advantage to three points, at 16-13.
Ishikawa and Konegawa made a valiant effort to try and salvage the game but the Bulgarians were in no mood to let up on the pressure they had built and and celebrated their title win by gesturing happily to their coach.
The mixed doubles final also saw a stirring three-set contest between the top-seeded English husband-and-wife pair of Jenny and Gregory Mairs and Chinese duo Zhou Zhi Hong and Yang Jia Yi.
Zhou and Yang ultimately triumphed 28-26, 16-21, 22-20, but the match could easily have gone the way of the English pair had luck been on their side in the final set.
The tone for the game was established in the very first set with both pairs determined not to cede any ground to their opponents until Zhou and Yang managed to close it out, 28-26.
The Mairs roared back into contention in the second set, taking a 15-10 lead before winning it, 21-16, and edging 12-10 ahead in the third and final set.
But Zhou and Yang, egged on by dozens of their compatriots who had packed into the stands, then took an 18-15 lead before the Mairs managed to draw level at 19-all and then again at 20-20.
But that was to be their last moment of joy with Zhou and Yang gleefully celebrating their win a few minutes later as the large Chinese contingent in the stands screamed with joy and gave them a standing ovation.
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