BWF World Junior Championships: Nozomi Okuhara beats Akane Yamaguchi to earn Women’s Singles title
Japan’s most promising shuttler Nozomi Okuhara lived up to the expectations as she earned Women’s Singles title after defeating her team-mate Akane Yamaguchi in the final encounter at the BWF World Junior Championships 2012 for EYE – Level Cups in Japan,
on Saturday, November 3.
The higher ranked Nozomi, who was seeded at number three in Women’s Singles world rankings, played with remarkable precision in her shots and eventually got rid of her ninth seeded compatriot in just 32 minutes.
Nozomi proved that she belongs to the highest class of players as she did not show any mercy to her challenger and easily finished off the final contest in straight games by registering a spectacular margin on the score board.
In the meanwhile, the lower ranked Akane could not extend her victorious run in the final battle as she was lacking the finishing shots and eventually knelt down to her experienced opponent without creating a strong impact.
In the first game, Nozomi played with excellent control in her shots and managed to occupy the pace of rallies without facing any tough opposition.
Nozomi continued playing in the similar aggressive fashion and managed to create a wonderful difference on score board until the one-minute break.
After the mid-game interval, the lower ranked Akane tried to put up strong resistance but failed to finish the rallies as her rival’s defence was impressive.
On the other hand, the positive and planned play of Nozomi kept her in lead and she easily bagged the first game with a crushing 21-12 score on the board.
In the following set, the situation remained the same as Nozomi did not lose her focus at any stage and again set up a huge lead until the break.
After the interval, the third seeded Nozomi remained consistent in playing positive and commanding badminton and remained ahead of her confused opponent all the way.
The higher ranked Japanese shuttler remained successful in taking the second set with a completely one-sided total of 21-9.
Nozomi emerged as the World Junior Champion as she finished off the final battle in straight sets with a phenomenal 21-12 and 21-9 margin on the board.
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