Calgary: The 2024 Canada Open which was filled with upsets, finally came to an end on Sunday and Koki Watanabe together with Busanan Ongbamrungphan both emerged as the men’s singles and women’s singles champions respectively in the BWF World Tour Super 500 event.
Highlights of Busanan Ongbamrungphan vs. Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt in the 2024 Canada Open final:
After beating No. 1 seed Zhang Beiwen of the USA in the semi-finals 21-18, 21-14, Ongbamrungphan from Thailand met with No. 4 seed Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt of Denmark in the final. The Thai player led the entire first and second set to beat Kjaersfeldt 21-16, 21-14 in 53 minutes.
This was Ongbamrungphan’s first title in 2024 and her first BWF World Tour title since winning the 2022 India Open.
With the No. 1 seed Anders Antonsen, and No. 2 seed Kodai Naraoka both lost in the quarter-finals, the No. 6 seed Koki Watanabe was battling against an unexpected opponent, the unseeded and World No. 37 Alex Lanier from France.
Highlights of Koki Watanabe vs. Alex Lanier in the 2024 Canada Open final:
Watanabe who defeated Kodai Naraoka in the quarter-finals 21-18, 16-21, 21-11, came back from losing the first game to beat Lanier 20-22, 21-17, 21-6.
This was Watanabe’s first BWF World Tour title since winning the 2023 Swiss Open final, beating Chou Tien Chen 22–20, 18–21, 21–12.
Men’s doubles No. 1 seeds Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen also were made to work before beating Ben Lane/Sean Vendy of England 18-21, 21-14, 21-11.
In mixed doubles, unseeded pair Jesper Toft/Amalie Magelund pulled off an upset to beat compatriots and No. 1 seeds Mathias Christiansen/Alexandra Bøje 9-21, 24-22, 21-12.
Meanwhile, Japan’s top-seeded Rin Iwanaga/Kie Nakanishi claimed the Canada Open by overcoming Hsu Yin-Hui/Lin Jhih Yun of Taiwan 21-13, 21-13.
