Calgary: The 22-year-old Kenta Momota of Japan, playing in his first international badminton following a gambling ban, advanced to the Canada Open men’s singles final by fighting past compatriot Kenta Nishimoto on Saturday.
Momota continued his unchallenged run by conjuring up just enough brilliance to beat Nishimoto 21-11, 21-13 in 39 minutes. He will set up an all-Japanese final with No. 6 seed Kanta Tsuneyama on Sunday.
Tsuneyama cruised into the final with a grueling three-set victory over No. 1 seed Lee Hyun-Il of Korea. The Japanese lost the opening set but sailed through the next two sets to win the match 17-21, 21-8, 21-12 in 59 minutes.
In women’s singles, the reigning Chinese Open champion Saena Kawakami of Japan saw off compatriot Sayaka Takahashi 21-14, 21-10 to enter the final. She will face Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland on Sunday.
Kirsty Gilmour booked her place in the final with a 21-14, 21-8 win over Jeon Joo I of Korea.
English men’s pair Peter Briggs and Tom Wolfenden Federer was given a grueling workout by Choi Hyuk Gyun/Park Kyung Hoon in their semi-final which lasted 50 minutes. The British pair raised their game at the crucial moments to outlast the Korean pair 17-21, 21-17, 21-18. They will take on another Korean men’s pair Kim Won Ho/Seo Seung Jae of Korea on Sunday.
