Thursday, 21 Nov 2024

News | BWF World Tour

Their joy was infectious.

When Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara secured victory in the women’s doubles final at the YONEX SUNRISE India Open 2024 in straight sets, their excitement was palpable. Their smiles remained plastered on their faces long after they had left the court.

And it’s no wonder they felt this exhilarated – it had been almost three years since their last title.

In addition to their win, there were two other victories on that day that ended long dry spells. Shi Yu Qi had not won a title in over a year, and Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai had experienced an inconsistent year in 2023 after their successes in 2021 and 2022.

But the dry spell finally ended for both of them. Shi Yu Qi secured a hard-fought victory over Lee Cheuk Yiu, while Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai triumphed over Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin.

For all these players, their victories at the India Open were a relief and a promising start to an Olympic year. It was a reaffirmation of their winning ability and a boost to their confidence.

For two-time world champions Matsumoto and Nagahara, this victory was their first since the COVID-affected All England tournament in March 2021. The Japanese pair dominated their opponents, Zhang Shu Xian and Zheng Yu, with a convincing score of 21-12 21-13 in just 51 minutes.

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Matsumoto reflected on the significance of this victory, saying, “Even the All England tournament that we won in 2021 didn’t have all the top pairs due to COVID. This time, since most of the top pairs were here, this win was extremely satisfying.”

Nagahara added, “In the past, we performed well in events but were unable to win in the finals. We would reach the semifinals or finals but couldn’t clinch victory. This time, we finally achieved that, and it’s a big accomplishment.”

Shi Yu Qi also acknowledged the difficult period he had gone through, losing in five finals. He expressed his relief at finally winning the gold after a challenging year.

“It has been a challenging journey,” said the world No.2. “Last year was tough, and now this is my second tournament in two weeks after the Malaysia Open. Winning the gold means a lot to me.”

Results (Finals)