Thais trip up at the final hurdle

Top seeds Japan tamed hosts Thailand 3-0 to claim their first Uber Cup victory since 1981 in front of a near-full house at the Impact Arena, Muang Thong Thani on Saturday.
The match was preceded by the rare scene of badminton fans queueing for tickets to Thailand’s first appearance in the final. Sadly, their hopes of witnessing an historic victory did not materialise.
Japan, featuring elite players such as world No 2 Akane Yamaguchi, current world champion Nozomi Okuhara and world No 2 doubles player Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota were too tough a nut to crack. They reeled off the three rubbers they needed in just over three hours for their sixth Uber Cup victory.
The Japanese domination started with Yamaguchi showing masterclass form to beat Thai ace Ratchanok Intanon 21-15 21-19.

Ratchanok Intanon
 “I was happy to win this point not because I beat Ratchanok but because I won the first point for Japan. I remained focused in a difficult match against a tough player,” said Akane, who avenged her loss to Ratchanok in the Malaysian Masters semi-finals in January.
Former world No 1 Ratchanok admitted she had not been at her best.
“I was surprised by how she counter-attacked with my game. The momentum kept switching all the time but in the end she was the better player on crucial points,” said Ratchanok, who will play two events in Malaysia and Indonesia before the Thailand Open in July.
Thailand later opted to pair Jongkolphan Kititharakul with Puttita Supajirakul instead of Jongkolphnan’s  normal partner Rawinda Prajongjai, hoping to confuse Asian Championships winners and world No 2 Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota. 
The tactic worked at the beginning but once the Japanese duo found their momentum, they never looked back and eased home  21-18 21- 12.
“At the beginning they seemed to have a problem with our team as they are more familiar with me and Rawinda but they finally caught up with us and never allowed us to play our game. We already tried everything,” said Jongkolphan.

Japanese team

Fukushima, who won the World Championships silver medal with Hirato last year in Glasgow, said: “We felt relieved after Yamaguchi won the first point. We didn’t start well but after we reached the first 11 points first, we got into our groove.”
World No 11 Nitchaon Jindapol then took to the court in the hope of reversing the tide but world No 9 Okuhara proved stronger and faster in all aspects, subdued the Thai No 2  21-12 21-9.
“Even though we lost, to be standing on the podium as the runners-up for the first time is a huge experience. Beating a powerful team like China in the semi-finals will always stay in my memory,” said Nitchaon.

Nitchaon Jindapol 
While Thailand coach Rexy Mainaky was content with the team’s maiden Uber Cup final appearance he said he would need to study the videos and analyse where the team could do even better in future.
 “They have shown they are mentally stronger but we need to work harder on the physical part,” the Indonesian said. “We need to show consistency in order to be at the same level as the top teams like China, Japan, Indonesia and Denmark.”
Japan’s coach, the South Korean Park Joo Bong, praised his players’ determination.
“At the beginning I was concerned about the support from the home fans but my players proved they were really focused and determined to win,” he said.