( Credit Image: Badzine.net)
Japan stood out like a sore thumb in China's bid to make a clean sweep of the titles in this year's BWF World Junior Championships which ended in Bilbao, Spain on Sunday.
The Japanese put a dent in China's pride by winning the women's doubles title. No 2 seeds Sayaka Hobara-Nami Matsuyama gunned down top seeds and hot favourites Du Yu-Xu Ya 25-23, 19-21, 21-14 after a titanic 84-minute battle.
"We went all out and took our chances" Nami was quoted by BWF website as the Japanese fought tooth and nail in the rubber against the mighty Chinese favourites.
In the process Sayaka-Nami wrote history for their country as the first pair from the Land of the Rising Sun to win the women's doubles title in the World Juniors Championships.
The win prevented a clean sweep by world badminton powerhouse China from making a clean sweep in Bilbao. But the Chinese were unbeatable in other individual events.The mixed-team champions swept the men's and women's singles and the men's and mixed doubles with ease to underline their domination in the shuttle sport.
Sun Fexiang made it count in his last outing as a junior by winning the men's singles with a dominating performance to beat Indonesia's Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo 21-19, 21-12 in 41 minutes.
Feixiang completed his last chance to win the world junior title in style – riding on his self motivation "I believe in myself" to subdue the Indonesian hope to end his junior stint in glory.
Han Chengkai-Zhou Haodong, the top seeds, outplayed Korea's unseeded pair Lee Hong-sub-Lim Su-min 21-17, 21-14 in 36 minutes for the men's doubles title.
China ended a nine-year drought in the women's singles as second seed Chen Yufei defeated Thailand's third seed Pornpawee Chochuwong 21-14, 21-17 in a 41-minute encounter. The last time China won the women's singles was in 2007 through Wang Lin.
He Jiting-Du Yue went one better than in Lima, Peru last year by clinching the gold in the mixed doubles. In all-China final the champions, who won the silver medal last year, defeated compatriots Zhou Haodong-Hu Yuxiang 213, 21-15 in 29 minutes.
RESULTS (All Finals)
Men's singles
Sun Feixiang (Chn) beat Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo (Ina) 21-19, 21-12
Men's doubles
Han Chengkai-Zhou Haodong (Chn) beat Lee Hong-sub-Lim Su-min (Kor) 21-17, 21-14
Women's singles
Chen Yufei (Chn) beat Pornpawee Chochuwong (Tha) 21-14, 21-17
Women's doubles
Sayaka Hobara-Nami Matsuyama (Jpn) beat Da Yue-Xu Ya (Chn) 25-23, 19-21, 21-14
Mixed doubles
He Jiting-Du Yue (Chn) beat Zhou Haodong-Hu Yuxiang (Chn) 21-13, 21-15
