Vantaa: The 2021 Sudirman Cup will reach its climax on Sunday, with either Japan celebrating a historic first title or China lifting the trophy for the twelve-time in front of its fans in Vantaa, Finland.
In the semi-final tie between Japan and Malaysia on Saturday, Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi of Japan who lost to Malaysia’s Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik in the men’s doubles match of the last Group D tie on Thursday turned the table against the Malaysians by beating the Olympic bronze medalists 21-15, 21-14 to give Japan a 1-0 lead.
Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi then blew away Kisona Selvaduray of Malaysia 21-7, 21-5 in the women’s singles match, and handed Japan a 2-0 lead over Malaysia.
In the do-or-die match for the Malaysian team, Lee Zii Jia produced a powerful display against Japan’s men’s singles World No. 1 Kento Momota, coming back from 1-5, 9-13 down to take the first game 22-20.
Lee was imperious on his smashes, successfully exacted his revenge two days ago by losing to the World No. 1 Momota in the last Group D tie to beat the Japanese 21-19 in the second set to keep Malaysia’s hopes alive and made the overall score 2-1.
“I can’t describe my feeling right now. I want to show to my fans that I am one of the best players in the world, and I am happy about my performance today,” said Lee after the match.
“It’s tough playing against Momota. Winning the first game really gave me a lot of confidence, and I am happy I could solve all the problems throwing at me by Momota,” added Lee.
Facing the Japanese scratch but experienced pair of Mayu Matsumoto/Misaki Matsutomo, Malaysia’s World No. 19 Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan stepped up their fight until the last bullet as Tan had to call for a medical timeout when trailing 16-18 in the second game due to pain at her right shoulder. After treatment from the doctor, Muralitharan/Tan re-entered the court and the Japanese pair was aware of the situation and was targeting Tan most of the time. Matsumoto/Matsutomo scored the winning point when Tan’s backcourt lift was too strong and it was out of bound. The final score for the women’s doubles match was 21-19, 21-17 in favor of the Japanese pair.
