SKYCITY NZ Badminton Open Finals Review

SKYCITY NZ Badminton Open Finals Review

Finals day at the SKYCITY New Zealand Badminton Open saw the curtain come down on the greatest week of badminton New Zealand has seen with the first ever gold status Grand Prix hosted here, and in keeping with that week, the finals delivered some great action for the large and vocal crowd.

There were fast finals, drawn out finals and fiercely contested finals throughout the day, wth the highlight being the win for former world number one Lee Hyun Il (Korea) as the 35 year old showed there is plenty of fight in the old legs just yet while the men’s and women’s doubles produced thrillers that had the crowd totally engaged throughout.

Lee Hyun Il has a pedigree second to few in the men’s game over the past 15 years, twice a beaten semi-finalist the Olympic Games and a former world Champion, the Korean was in New Zealand last year but was hampered by a calf muscle injury and made little impact, he made up for it this year with a dominant performance.

The 35 year old used all of his court craft and showed the fitness of a much younger man in a straight games win over China’s Xiao Bin, 21-12, 21-15.

His struggles last year were clearly evident in his delight at winning this time around.

“It has taken a lot of dedication to get here today as champion. Last year I injured my calf muscle so this season I came back well prepared so I’m really happy with the result,” he said.

Lee Hyun Il said his years of experience were a key contributing factor in him claiming the Grand Prix title.

“I used the right techniques against my opponent because I’ve played against him before and know what strategies to use.

Many predicted the women’s singles final at the SKYCITY New Zealand Badminton Open would be a short one, it was, but not with the winner most were predicting as Japanese qualifier Saena Kawakami upset He Bing Jiao (China) in straight games to earn the biggest win of her career.

17 year old Kawakami showed no nerves as she took control of the match from the outset, dominating a first game that took only 15 minutes to win 21-16 and while 18 year old He Bing Jiao fought hard in the second, Kawakami took out the game and the match, 21-18 in 43 minutes.

“I’m really happy but I haven’t really thought about how I won yet, I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all. It was a hard game but I was focused today. I was persistent and didn’t make a lot of errors. That helped me to win.”

The win has some history in New Zealand, last year Nozomi Okuhara took the title back to the land of the rising sun and two years ago it was another young Japanese player who finished runner up in the tournament, on that occasion Akane Yamaguchi went on to win the World Junior title.

The mixed doubles final at the SKYCITY New Zealand Badminton Open was first on the schedule and almost over before the large crowd had taken their seats at the North Shore Events Centre, with Zheng Si Wei and Chen Qingchen proving far too strong for their People’s Republic of China compatriots Yu Xiaoyu and Xia Huan, the 5th seeds totally dominant in a 21-14, 21-8.

The pair have been in control all week in their bright pink and with their vocal approach to most points, but hardly needed to get out of second gear on the biggest day of the tournament.

“We’re over the top happy, absolutely ecstatic to have won. We really went for the win today, we move with speed and we’re faster than the other team,” said Zheng Si Wei.

“We did a very thorough preparation for the match, thinking it was going to be really hard game but it turned out to be a bit more relaxed than we expected.”

Xiaoyu and Huan did stay competitive through most of the first game but simply had no answers to the power and precision of their young opponents and had to be content with runner-up prize money at the SKYCITY sponsored tournament.

Arguably the best matches of finals day came later on with the women’s and men’s doubles deciders both going to three games.

Chinese duo Xia Huan and Zhong Qianxin fought back from the brink of defeat to claim the women’s doubles.

Xia and Zhong beat Japan’s Yuki Fukishima and Sayaka Hirota 17-21, 22-24, 21-19 in the most pulsating match that lasted more than an hour and a half at the North Shore Events Centre.

The Japanese pair, and third seeds, got out to a flying start and took the first game, before continuing their form in the second game. Fukishima and Hirota even had match points, but a gallant effort from their Chinese opponents saw the match extended to a deciding game.

The crowd lifted with the players and the final became one of huge excitement. The teams traded blows before, late in the game, Xia and Zhong took the advantage and, ultimately, the crown of SKYCITY New Zealand Open champions.

The treats kept coming late in the day, with the men’s final also going the distance.

The 18 year old Chinese pair of Huang Kaixiang and Zheng Si Wei rallied from losing the first game to beat Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto 16-21, 21-17, 21-9.

After losing the first game, Huang and Zheng found their groove and their supporters found their voice. They fed off that energy from the crowd, often yelling and celebrating with each other after winning points.

After taking the second game in tight fashion, they had the momentum and their tails up and took control of the match. As soon as Huang and Zheng got a handy buffer over their Indonesian rivals, they surged ahead and claimed the title.

We didn’t give up, even though we lost the first game. We just kept going for it, point by point,” Huang said.

RESULTS:

Mixed doubles: ZHENG Si Wei/CHEN Qingchen def YU Xiaoyu/XIA Huan 21-14, 21-8

Women’s singles: Saena KAWAKAMI def HE Bing Jiao 21-16, 21-18

Men’s singles: LEE Hyun Il def QIAO Bin 21-12, 21-14

Women’s doubles: XIA Huan/ZHONG Qianxin def Yuki FUKISHIMA/Sayaka HIROTA 17-21, 24-22, 21-19

Men’s doubles: HUANG Kaixiang/ZHENG Si Wei def Fajar ALFIAN/Muhammad Rian ARDIANTO 16-21, 21-17, 21-9

SKYCITY NZ Open

Date: April 28 to May 3

Prize money: USD$120,000

Venue: North Shore Events Centre

TV broadcast: Sky Sport NZ and globally through IMG to over 50 countries and an estimated viewing audience of 220 million

Sponsors: SKYCITY, One Pure – official water supplier, X-TRM – official equipment and apparel supplier, ATEED

Website: www.nzbadmintonopen.com

ENDS

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