WANG Zhiyi of China stunned world No. 2 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, 15-21, 21-13, 21-19, to capture her first-ever Asian women's singles title at the SMART Badminton Asia Team Championships 2022 on Sunday.
The 2019 champion Yamaguchi tried to rescue her reign with four consecutive points to cut the deficit to 11-17 in the third and deciding game in the fiercely fought match at the Muntinlupa Sports Complex in Muntinlupa City.
Thrilling finish
Yamaguchi forced a deadlock at 19-all after a Wang error on a drop attempt. But the latter sealed the win with two straight points off a smash and a forced error."I was excited to get the championship. It was incredible and unimaginable because no one thought that I will win the title, including myself," Wang said through an interpeter.
With the win, Wang gained 12,000 points in the BWF world rankings, while Yamaguchi received 10,200. Semifinalists An Seyoung of Korea and P.V. Sindhu of India took 8,400 points
"Yamaguchi is a very tough opponent so I had to adjust my mentality to go through some tough decisions in the match," the 22-year-old native of Shashi, Jingzhou added.The tournament is made possible by SMART, MVP Sports Foundation, Robinson's Land, Li-Ning, Cignal, TV5, One Sports, Premium Megastructure Inc., Philippine Badminton Association, Badminton Asia, the Philippine Olympic Committee, the Philippine Sports Commission, and Muntinlupa Mayor Fresnedi and the City of Muntinlupa.
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