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Japan's Kento Momota and India's PV Sindhu put together dominant performances during Sunday's 2019 Badminton World Championships, winning the men's and women's tournament, respectively.
Sindhu became India's first ever world champion by beating Nozomi Okuhara in a rematch of the 2017 final. She also set a record for fewest points conceded in a final with just 14, but Momota immediately bettered the mark:
Last year's champion fell behind early against Anders Antonsen, but once he found his groove, he blew the Dane out of the water.
Here are the results from Sunday's finals:
Men's Singles: Kento Momota beats Anders Antonsen: 21-9, 21-3
Women's Singles: PV Sindhu beats Nozomo Okuhara: 21-7, 21-7
Men's Doubles: Mohammad Ahsan, Hendra Setiawan beat Takuro Hoki, Yugo Kobayashi: 25-23, 9-21, 21-15
Women's Doubles: Mayu Matsumoto, Wakana Nagahara beat Yuki Fukushima, Sayaka Hirota: 21-11, 20-22, 23-21
Mixed Doubles: Zheng Siwei, Huang Yaqiong beat Dechapol Puavaranukroh, Sapsiree Taerattanachai: 21-8, 21-12
Momota became just the fourth man in history to retain his title on Sunday, and he did so in emphatic fashion:
Underdog Antonsen came out with intensity, winning six of the first eight points in the match with some aggressive, attacking play. Momota quickly adjusted, however, using his technical mastery to make the difference in the rallies.
In no time, he turned the deficit into a massive lead, winning the first game easily.
The second game turned into a complete demolition, with Momota punishing every single mistake and Antonsen making plenty. The final point highlighted his class, as he dove to save an Antonsen smash, and the shuttle dropped to hand him the win.
The 24-year-old needed just 38 minutes to secure the gold, but Sindhu finished even quicker, winning her maiden title in 37 minutes:
Okuhara beat her to the gold in a thriller in 2017, but was decisively second-best in Basel on Sunday. Sindhu's raw power was too much to handle for the Japanese, who is known as a standout defender but couldn't move fast enough in the final.
Sindhu previously won two silver and two bronze medals in the World Championships, as well as silver in the 2016 Summer Olympics. While it took her some time to finally take the next step and win a big tournament, she did so in style against Okuhara.
China's horror tournament may have yielded just a single gold medal in the mixed doubles, but they did maintain their streak of winning at least one world title in every tournament since 1983.
Defending champion Kento Momota will be the player to beat when the men's event of the 2019 Badminton World Championships gets underway on Monday at St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland.
Momota has a strong case to defend his crown against an injury-thinned field that's missing some top stars. However, Momota can't afford to be overconfident since there are still some formidable players set to compete, including five-time winner Lin Dan.
The women's title could belong to PV Sindhu, who is determined to go one better after reaching the finals of the past two tournaments. Injuries have also affected this event, with reigning champion Carolina Marin set to miss out after tearing her ACL.
Dates: August 19 to August 25
Live Stream: BadmintonWorld.tv
Schedule
Full draw available on the tournament's official website.
Momota will be expected to dominate given the high-profile absences from the main bracket. The most notable include Shi Yuqi, Son Wan Ho and Viktor Axelsen, per Sanjeev Palar of the Olympic Channel.
By contrast, Momota is not only fully fit, but he's also entering the tournament on a roll. The 24-year-old recently retained the Japan Open title to cement his status as the top-ranked men's player on the planet.
Add his latest title to prizes won in Singapore, England and Germany, and Momota has all the confidence and momentum he needs to keep hold of the world crown.
Dan has the pedigree to upset Momota, but a sixth world title may be just beyond the 35-year-old at this stage of his decorated career.
While the men's draw appears set to lead toward a predictable conclusion, the women's bracket is tougher to call. Marin's knee injury guarantees a new champion, with Sindhu having a strong chance.
Last year's beaten finalist needs to overcome a recurring mental block at the business end of tournaments. Sindhu has only reached one final this year, losing to Akane Yamaguchi at the Indonesia Open, per Jaspreet Sahni of The Times of India.
The defeat was an uncomfortable reminder of losing Marin at the last year's World Championships and to Nozomi Okuhara the year before. If Sindhu, ranked No. 5 in the world, can hold her nerve when it counts, she has the talent to finally lift the big prize.
China produced an excellent performance to win the 2019 Sudirman Cup on Sunday, beating Japan 3-0 in the final.
The top two seeds progressed with ease through the knockout stages of the competition, setting up an eagerly anticipated showdown at the Guangxi Sports Center in Nanning, China.
In the end, the home crowd proved decisive, as China won all three of its matches against the top seed. The success continued the nation's domination in the competition, as China has now won the event 11 times in total—seven times more than any other country—and seven of the past eight editions.
This is moment the hotts secured the success:
Here is a recap of the action from Sunday's final.
Sudirman Cup Final 2019: Scores
China 3-0 Japan
(CHI) Li Junhui & Liu Yuchen bt. (JPN) Hiroyuki Endo & Yuta Watanabe: 21-18, 21-10
(CHI) Chen Yufei bt. (JPN) Akane Yamaguchi: 17-21, 21-16, 21-17
(CHI) Shi Yuqi bt. (JPN) Kento Momota: 15-21, 21-5, 21-11
China Dominates Japan in Sudirman Cup Final
Although Japan started the tournament as the top seed, throughout the competition, China looked like the strongest squad. In the final, the hosts showed there was a chasm in quality between the two rivals.
The Badminton Talk Twitter account noted just how difficult China is to beat on its home patch in this event:
In the men's doubles, China got the final off to an excellent start. After a tight opening game, Junhui and Yuchen pressed the accelerator against Endo and Watanabe, winning the second comfortably and giving China a 1-0 lead.
From there, it was always going to be tough for Japan, but its players dug deep in an attempt to keep alive their hopes of success.
In the next match, Yamaguchi took the opening game against Yufei, having played some brilliant badminton based on a rock-solid defence:
However, the world No. 3 was able to settle in the second and third games, doing just enough to win both and to push China into a commanding lead in the overall stakes.
Japan had a mountain to climb and would have been hoping Momota, the world No. 1, would have at least been able to halve the deficit in the tie. The match started well for him, as he took the opening game against Yuqi.
But potentially inspired by his compatriot earlier in the day, the Chinese star rallied back and produced a spellbinding segment of play. The world No. 1 only won 16 points after taking the opening game, with Yuqi sealing the trophy for his country with a swagger.
China reached the final of the 2019 BWF Sudirman Cup after scoring an emphatic win over Thailand on Saturday. The hosts will face Japan in Sunday's final after the latter overcame Indonesia despite losing the first match in the day's second tie.
Another appearance in the final is just reward for a China team looking to make amends after defeat against South Korea two years ago. China can feel confident about going one better, not only because of home advantage, but also because of the form they displayed in the last four.
Saturday Semi-Final Results (Per the tournament's official website)
Final Schedule
China made a strong case to go through by dominating the mixed doubles. Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong held their nerve in clutch situations to earn key points early on:
Shots as deft as those left Thailand struggling in the scramble for answers. It was no surprise when China soon had the opening game wrapped up.
The pattern had been set, and Zheng and Huang increased the pressure from the off during the second game. Their resolve and skill overwhelmed Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai en route to a comfortable 21-7 win to leave China in firm control of the tie.
Shi Yuqi then took the initiative and forced his way past Kantaphon Wangcharoen in the men's singles. He routinely bossed the rallies, winning 47 of 86, per the competition's official website.
Shi's victory set up his team to complete their run to another final.
Japan were rocking after Indonesia took the men's doubles 21-14 and 21-18. The team needed a swift recovery and found it during singles action.
Akane Yamaguchi made the right shots in key moments against Gregoria Mariska Tunjung. Yamaguchi's balanced play yielded identical 21-13 match results in her favour.
Her win gave Kento Momota the chance to put Japan in control of the semi-final. The world No. 1 did exactly that, even though his win over Anthony Sinisuka Ginting was a hard-fought one.
Momota took the first game 21-17, before an even closer 21-19 scoreline put a second point on the board for his nation.
A win in the women's doubles for Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara sent Japan through to what promises to be an epic final.
China arguably possesses the stronger team, but gifted individuals like Momota will ensure Japan still has a chance.
Japan and Indonesia secured their places in the semi-finals of the 2019 Sudirman Cup on Friday.
Japan eased to a 3-0 win against Malaysia, while Indonesia edged out Chinese Taipei in a hard-fought 3-2 win in Nanning, China.
The pair will join China and Thailand in the final four of the competition.
In the final placement matches, Canada secured 13th place ahead of France. The two sides had topped Group 2B and 2A, respectively.
Nepal ended their campaign without a single win as they went down 3-1 to Lithuania.
Quarter-Final Results
Malaysia 0-3 Japan
Chinese Taipei 2-3 Indonesia
Placement Matches
(14th) France 1-3 Canada (13th)
(22nd) Ireland 2-3 Sri Lanka (21st)
(26th) New Zealand 2-3 Slovakia (25th)
(24th) Australia 2-3 Switzerland (23rd)
(28th) Nepal 1-3 Lithuania (27th)
Saturday's Schedule
China vs. Thailand (11 a.m. local, 4 a.m. BST, 11 p.m. ET Friday)
Indonesia vs. Japan (6 p.m. local, 11 a.m. BST, 6 a.m. ET)
Quarter-Final Recap
Malaysia's clash with Japan started strongly as men's doubles pair Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi won their opening set 21-13.
That would be the last Malaysia would manage, though, as Japan battled back to win the opening tie in three.
Ong and Teo were not helped by an incident in the third game, which required the latter to receive medical treatment:
Japan, the No. 1 seeds at the tournament and unbeaten in the group stage, made short work of the remainder of the match.
Nozomi Okuhara saw off Soniia Cheah 21-16, 21-13 before Kento Momota dispatched Lee Zii Jia 21-18, 21-16:
Indonesia and Chinese Taipei, who each won and lost once apiece in the group stage, were more evenly matched.
The former opened the contest with a victory in the men's doubles, but Tai Tzu Ying and Chou Tien Chen picked up singles wins against Gregoria Mariska Tunjung and Jonatan Christie, respectively, to swing the tie in Taipei's favour.
Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu rattled off a comfortable 21-13, 21-7 win against Pai Yu Po and Wu Ti Jung to level proceedings:
In the decider, Praveen Jordan and Melati Daeva Oktavianti beat Wang Chi-Lin and Hsieh Pei Shan in the mixed doubles 21-17, 21-15 to seal the win.
Japan and Indonesia will face off on Saturday in the semi-finals, and the latter have historically had the edge in past meetings:
Whoever emerges victorious from that clash will face the winner of China's clash with Thailand in Sunday's final.
China and Thailand will meet in the semi-finals of the 2019 Sudirman Cup after they defeated respective quarter-final opponents Denmark and South Korea on Thursday.
Denmark stood as the last non-Asian team left in the running to win one of badminton's most prestigious titles, but they were ousted 3-1 by the 10-time champions.
Thailand clinched their second win of the tournament in timely fashion and beat four-time winners South Korea 3-1 at Guangxi Sports Center in Nanning, China.
In the placement matches, Netherlands edged Germany in a 3-2 thriller to finish 15th, while Singapore were more ruthless in their 3-0 thrashing of Vietnam to take 17th place.
The United States failed to win a group match but beat Israel 3-1 to end the competition in 19th, and Macau got the better of Kazakhstan 3-2 to finish at the top of Group 4.
Thursday's Results
Quarter-Finals
China 3-1 Denmark
Thailand 3-1 South Korea
Placement Matches
(15th) Netherlands 3-2 Germany (16th)
(17th) Singapore 3-0 Vietnam (18th)
(19th) USA 3-1 Israel (20th)
Macau 3-2 Kazakhstan (Group 4)
Friday's Schedule
Quarter-Finals
Malaysia vs. Japan (11 a.m. local, 4 a.m. BST, 11 p.m. ET Wednesday)
Chinese Taipei vs. Indonesia (11 a.m. local, 4 a.m. BST, 11 p.m. ET Wednesday)
Placement Matches
France vs. Canada (11 a.m. local, 4 a.m. BST, 11 p.m. ET Wednesday)
Ireland vs. Sri Lanka (11 a.m. local, 4 a.m. BST, 11 p.m. ET Wednesday)
New Zealand vs. Slovakia (6 p.m. local, 11 a.m. BST, 6 a.m. ET)
Australia vs. Switzerland (6 p.m. local, 11 a.m. BST, 6 a.m. ET)
Nepal vs. Lithuania (6 p.m. local, 11 a.m. BST, 6 a.m. ET)
Quarter-Final Recap
Despite Sudirman Cup giants China grabbing much of the attention following their progress Thursday, Thailand's rather surprising upset of South Korea made for a rarer headline.
The Badminton World Federation shared highlights of their run to an underdog's result against major opposition:
South Korea won both of their Group 1C games against Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong, but Thailand proved more prepared. The mixed doubles team glanced a straight-sets victory before Kantaphon Wangcharoen beat Heo Kwang Hee 21-17, 21-17 to all but sew up the win.
Kim Wun ho and Min Hyuk Kang won the men's doubles to put South Korea on the board, but Ratchanok Intanon extinguished any hopes of a comeback by defeating Se Young An 21-15, 21-17.
Elsewhere, China continued their march toward the 2019 final as they look to make up for the near miss they suffered at South Korea's hands in the final two years ago.
The hosts encountered some bumps along the way but continued a seemingly irrepressible run, as illustrated by Badminton Talk:
Mathias Christensen and Sara Thygesen teamed up for Denmark in the mixed doubles and won the first set, only for Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong to storm back in style and win 19-21, 21-11, 21-13.
Viktor Axelsen is his country's biggest badminton figure for a reason and won Denmark's only match on the day:
China notched a relatively comfortable men's doubles win before Chen Yufei beat Mia Blichfeldt 21-16, 21-17 to settle the fixture, knocking the last remaining European team out of the running.
The semi-finals will be made up of only Asian countries for the third Sudirman Cup in succession—Malaysia and Japan will face off on Friday, while Chinese Taipei prepares to face Indonesia seeking a last-four spot.
The quarter-finals of the 2019 Sudirman Cup in Nanning, China were set on Wednesday, as China secured the top spot in Group 1D with a 5-0 win over India.
Holders South Korea edged out Taiwan to do the same in Group 1C, while Japan beat Thailand to claim first place in Group 1A. Indonesia topped Group 1B, despite losing to Denmark, the only European team to qualify for the quarter-finals.
China will face Denmark in the quarter-finals, while South Korea take on Thailand on Thursday. On Friday, Taiwan will do battle with Indonesia, and Japan face Malaysia.
There were also victories for Canada, Singapore and Ireland over Germany, Israel and Australia, respectively, in the early session. Sri Lanka, Slovakia and New Zealand beat Switzerland, Lithuania and Nepal, respectively, in the late session.
Wednesday Results
China 5-0 India
Taiwan 2-3 South Korea
Germany 2-3 Canada
Singapore 4-1 Israel
Ireland 3-2 Australia
Indonesia 2-3 Denmark
Japan 4-1 Thailand
Switzerland 2-3 Sri Lanka
Slovakia 4-1 Lithuania
New Zealand 4-1 Nepal
Full results and standings can be found on the tournament's official website.
Thursday Schedule
Macau vs. Kazakhstan (11 a.m. local, 4 a.m. BST, 11 p.m. ET Wednesday)
Netherlands vs. Germany (11 a.m. local, 4 a.m. BST, 11 p.m. ET Wednesday)
Vietnam vs. Singapore (11 a.m. local, 4 a.m. BST, 11 p.m. ET Wednesday)
USA vs. Israel (11 a.m. local, 4 a.m. BST, 11 p.m. ET Wednesday)
China vs. Denmark (6 p.m. local, 11 a.m. BST, 6 a.m. ET)
South Korea vs. Thailand (6 p.m. local, 11 a.m. BST, 6 a.m. ET)
Wednesday Recap
China reinforced their status as one of the tournament favourites with their second whitewash of the group stage, having also beaten Malaysia 5-0 in their opening fixture.
Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping had a straightforward time in the opening mixed doubles match, dispatching Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N. Sikki Reddy 21-5, 21-11 in 28 minutes.
India put up some more resistance in the men's singles and men's doubles clashes, though, with each match taking more than an hour.
In the latter, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won the opening game 21-18, but they were unable to keep the tie alive and it soon went China's way 21-15, 21-17.
The 10-time Sudirman Cup winners completed their clean sweep with victories in the women's singles and doubles.
South Korea and Taiwan were already assured of quarter-final berths having each beaten Hong Kong in their first fixtures, so they were bidding for first place in Group 1C.
The latter took the initiative in the contest:
However, the defending champions battled back, as Chang Ye Na and Kong Hee Yong levelled proceedings with a 21-13, 21-15 win against Chang Ching Hui and Yang Chin Tun.
Seo Seung Jae and Chae YuJung sealed the win against Tseng Min Hao and Hsieh Pei Shan in the mixed doubles.
Mia Blichfeldt took the decisive rubber for the Danes in their win over Indonesia, although it wasn't enough to secure the top spot in the group:
As the last European nation standing, Denmark now face the daunting task of taking on hosts China on Thursday.
Japan, one of the other favourites for the title, lost just one rubber in their second win of the tournament, a 4-1 triumph over Thailand. Rising star Pornpawee Chochuwong got the win in the women's singles, before the duo of Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi secured the top spot in the group in the women's doubles:
Japan and Malaysia also met at this stage of the tournament two years ago, with the former advancing to the semi-finals with a 3-1 win.
Indonesia eased to a 4-1 win over England at the 2019 Sudirman Cup on Sunday to go top of Group 1B in Nanning, China.
The Netherlands and Canada got their campaigns off to winning starts in Group 2 with 3-2 victories over Vietnam and Singapore, respectively.
The Netherlands are only second in Group 2A, though, as France beat the USA 4-1 to take top spot.
In the day's evening session, 10-time winners and hosts China crushed Malaysia 5-0, while Australia beat New Zealand 4-1.
Here are the day's results:
Full results and standings can be found on the tournament's official website.
Monday Schedule
Sunday Recap
Indonesia entered their match boasting a 7-0 head-to-head record against England at the Sudirman Cup.
As such, it came as little surprise they eased to a comfortable victory to kick off their campaign.
Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo had too much for Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge, beating them 21-9, 21-18 in the opening game.
Gregoria Mariska Tunjung dispatched Abigail Holden in just 23 minutes in the second rubber, and Anthony Sinisuka Ginting similarly outclassed Toby Penty to seal the win in the third, producing some superb shots along the way:
England eventually pulled back a consolation in the final game through husband-and-wife duo Chris and Gabby Adcock, who saw off Praveen Jordan and Melati Daeva Oktavianti 21-17, 21-18.
Here's a look at some of the highlights:
On Monday, England will take on Denmark, against whom they also have a 0-7 head-to-head record.
Holders South Korea will also be in action, opening their title defence against Hong Kong.
The 2019 Sudirman Cup will begin on Sunday, as the world's best badminton players battle it out for international glory.
The 16th edition of the competition will run from May 19 to May 26 in Nanning, China, as champions South Korea aim to retain their title.
Here's the complete group draw and the full schedule:
Group 1A
Group 1B
Group 1C
Group 1D
Group 2A
Group 2B
Group 3A
Group 3B
Group 4
Here's the full schedule:
Sunday, May 19
Monday, May 20
Tuesday, May 21
Wednesday, May 22
Thursday, May 23
Friday, May 24
Saturday, May 25
Sunday, May 26
With the tournament on home soil for the fifth time, China will be out for revenge after losing to South Korea in the 2017 final.
The defeat ended their bid to win the Sudirman Cup for the seventh tournament running; the last time they had failed to win the trophy came in 2003, when South Korea also came out on top against them in the final:
Despite their record, they are seeded second for the tournament behind Japan.
Japan have never won the tournament, but a number of their players have been excellent in 2019.
Kento Momota won the men's singles events at the German Open, All England Open and Singapore Open, while Koki Watanabe did the same at the Orleans Masters.
Akane Yamaguchi and Saena Kawakami won the women's singles in Germany and Orleans, respectively, while across the men's, women's and mixed doubles, Japan have had six tournament victories overall.
Here's a look at how the team is shaping up ahead of the tournament:
The Japanese have only beaten Group 1A opponents Thailand once in five meetings at the Sudirman Cup, and they've been evenly matched with Russia in four matches.
If they're to live up to their seeding and challenge the likes of China and South Korea in the knockout phase, they will need to perform better than they have historically against their opponents.
