Japan becomes China's biggest challenger at badminton

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The 2018 BWF World Championships in Nanjing, capital city of east China’s Jiangsu Province, came to an end on Sunday as China and Japan took home two titles separately.

Japan’s Kento Momota defeated China’s Shi Yuqi 2-0 to win the first men’s singles title at the championships for his country.

22-year-old Shi made his debut appearance at the event final after taking out two of his teammates, Lin Dan and Chen Long. Momota’s trip was relatively easy without strong rivals. The two previously played only once at the 2018 Badminton Asia Championships, when Momota beat Shi 2-1.

Momota scored continuously in the middle of both rounds while Shi failed to maintain his momentum. After 21-11 and 21-13, the Japanese player brought home the championship that had eluded his country for so long.

Japan's Kento Momota wins gold in the men's singles at the 2018 BWF World Championships. /VCG Photo

China got even in the following final of men’s doubles when Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen beat Takeshi Kamura/Keigo Sonoda 2-0. This was the first men’s doubles title for the Chinese combination at the BWF World Championships and also the second gold for the country at this tournament.

The two sides played seven games before with the Chinese combination leading by a close 4-3. The latest contest happened at the 2018 Badminton Asia Championships when Li/Liu won by 2-1.

Team China took the first round with a relatively easy 21-12. However, Kamura/Sonoda launched counterattacks in the second round and once led by 18-15. Li/Liu stood up to the pressure and gradually caught up before putting an end to the game with 21-19.

China's Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen win gold in the men's doubles at the 2018 BWF World Championships. /VCG Photo

Japan was also strong in women’s doubles by bagging all medals. Of the four combinations in the semi-finals, Japanese players occupied three. In the end, Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara beat their teammates Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota 2-1, winning the first women’s doubles title at the BWF World Championships for Japan in 41 years.

China achieved similar success at the mixed doubles by winning all three medals. Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong met fellow players Wang Yilyu/Huang Dongping 2-0 after two fierce rounds of respectively 21-17 and 21-19. Having lost the title for this event in Glasgow in 2017, China got it back after a year.

The gold for women’s singles was the only title that was won by a player that neither comes from China nor Japan. 25-year-old Carolina Marín from Spain defeated 23-year-old Pusarla Venkata Sindhu from India by 2-0 in the final, winning her third women’s singles gold at the BWF World Championships.