In the men’s final in the Happening Hyderabad Badminton Asia team championship at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium here on Sunday, Indonesia pulled off an exciting 3-2 win over Japan, thanks to the resilience of World No. 36 Christie Jonatan.
Christie upstaged World No. 46 Kenta Nishimoto 14-21, 21-19, 21-13 after the team scores were tied two-all sparking off wild celebrations in his camp. India and Korea won a bronze each for making it to the semifinals.
Agency adds:
Japan’s Kento Momota, ranked number four in the world, had an easy 21-17, 21-7 win against Indonesia’s Ihsan Maulana Mustofa, who is ranked way below at 33.
Indonesia’s doubles pair of Angga Pratama-Rickey Karanda Suwardi defeated Japan’s Hiroyuki Endo-Kenichi Hayakawa 22-20, 14-21 and 21-17.
In the singles match that followed, Indonesia’s Ginting Anthony, who is ranked 34, shocked Sho Sasaki 21-7, 21-16 to give a boost to his team’s chances. Sasaki, ranked 22 now, was a seasoned shuttler.
In the second doubles match of the tie, Japan’s Takeshi Kamura-keigo Sonoda beat Indonesia’s Berry Agriawan-Ryan Agung Saputra 21-16, 21-15.
With both sides having won two matches each, the final match (singles) between Kenta Nishimoto (Japan) and Christie Jonatan (Indonesia) became decisive.
The match turned out to be a battle of wits and full of suspense with both the players winning one game each.
Result (finals):-
Men: Indonesia bt Japan 3-2 ( Mustofa Ihsan lost to Kento Momota 17-21, 17-21; Angga Pratama & Suwardi Ricky Karanda bt Enro Hiryouki & Kenichi Hayakawa 22-20, 14-21, 21-17; Ginting Anthony bt Sho Sasaki 21-7, 21-16; Berry Angriawan & Ryan Agung Saputra lost to Kamura Takeshi & Sonoda Keigo 16-21, 15-21; Christie Jonatan bt Kenta Nishimoto 14-21, 21-19, 21-13).
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