Yonex Australia Open 2011 FINALS

The Yonex Australia Open 2011 final was a day about the Japanese badminton team. Out of the 5 disciplines in the event, Japan competed in four out of the five events in the finals. They took home 3 Australian titles (MS, MD, and WD). The emerging Japanese talents have demonstrated their speed and how they embrace a high-tempo game.

Overall it was an exciting and entertaining finals.

Among the interesting matches today were:

WD – Chin/Wong (MAS) v Matsuo/Naito (JPN)

The Malaysia Women Doubles is fairly young and it is certainly impressive to see them in the finals. Japan on the other hand, is strong and fast as always. During the first game, nervousness could have kicked in for the young Malaysians as they had a difficult start.

However, they managed to narrow the score gap and finish the first game at 21-18.

Chin/Wong started strong at the start of the second game and pick up the momentum. When the Japanese team started to be less of a threat to the Malaysians, mistakes became the Malaysians’ biggest setback.

Eventually the Japanese team proved too strong for the Malaysian pair. Matsuo/Naito secured their victory at 21-18, 21-11.

Porntip (THA) v Liu Xin (CHN)

WS Final Part 1

WS Final Part 2

WS Final Part 3

After defeating Wang Lin to secure her position in the finals, many people were anticipating whether Porntip could produce a similar display to win the title at the Australia Open, by beating another Chinese player (Liu Xin, the no.1 seed).

Porntip has the skills and techniques and would indisputably qualify as a strong opponent for Liu Xin. Unfortunately, confidence was lacking in the young Thai player’s game. Liu Xin produced a magnificent performance, with her steep drop shots, sharp smashes and superb footwork; but Porntip could not perform as well as she did in the semi finals.

The score gap was wide in the 2 games with Liu Xin leading all the way. Porntip did not seem to stand a chance. The young Thai had talent but lacked the mental strength to compete in high level tournaments.

Choong Hann (MAS) v Sho (JPN) – THE HIGHLIGHT

MS Final Part 1

MS Final Part 2

WS Final Part 3

WS Final Part 4

WS Final Part 5

Finally, the highlight of the Yonex Australia Open 2011 Final was the MS match between Wong Choong Hann the former world no.2 and Sho Sasaki.

Classy skills are definitely evident in the former Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist, Choong Hann; but Sho Sasaki has great physical strength and consistency in his game. Prior to this match, it was almost impossible to predict the score line.

This competitive MS match eventually entered into a rubber.

In the first set, Sho fired everything he had at his opponent. Choong Hann was patient and defended every shot. The Malaysian opted for a defensive strategy which ended with constant bombardment from Sho Sasaki.

In the second match, the tables turned. After having a few words with his friends, Choong Hann switched to a more offensive strategy. Steep and powerful cross court smashes became more apparent in the Malaysian’s game. Sho was not able to do anything when Choong Hann delivered these attacks. The score gap became so wide in the second game with Choong Hann leading at 17-7 at one point.

Unfortunately for Choong Hann, age was a barrier to winning the title in the third game. It was obvious that he could not keep up with the fitness of Sho. The match points were all along competitive in the third game. The Malaysian did all he could to recover from tiredness, even changing shuttles and asking to towel down.

The Malaysian Spirit was high with many Malaysian supporters all over the stadium shouting “Malaysia BOLEH” (Malaysia can do it). The united spirit made the match more exciting but Sho Sasaki managed to narrowly edge out Choong Hann at 21-19.

Sho ended the match at 21-11, 12-21, 21-19.

Final Thoughts on the FINALS

The Yonex Australia Open 2011 has been upgraded to the Grand Prix Gold. Prize money was higher and more big name players have attended the event. The stadium was almost full for the quarter finals, semi finals, and the finals of the Australia Open 2011 event. It is obvious that the sport is indeed a growing in Australia.

Hopefully this GP Gold event will be upgraded to a Super Series event in the coming years.

Finally, we at www.how-to-play-badminton.com (MasterBadminton.com) would like to thank the team at Badminton Victoria for the opportunity to help promote the Yonex Australia Open 2011 event. We enjoyed it.