ERSA Pro Stringer Magazine Issue 8-2018 prostringer8-18 web | Page 10

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INDUSTRY NEWS
Macau Open 2018: Lee Yong Dae and Kim Gi Jung victori-
ous, Team Yonex wins three categories
Lee Yong Dae and Kim Gi Jung (KOR) added their second title since their return this year at the past
week’s Macau Open 2018. Canada’s Michelle Li and Tang Chun Man/Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong also
took the top of the podium in Women’s Singles and Mixed Doubles, respectively.
Lee, who is hosting the next Legends’ Vision event in his home country later this month, and partner were
up against countrymen Ko Sung Hyun and Shin Baek Chol. Though they lost the first game by a 4-point
deficit, they were able to rally in the second, and decided the match after one hour and nine minutes, 17-
21, 21-13, 21-19.
In women’s singles, Michelle Li also took three games and one and a quarter hours to battle past her oppo-
nent, Han Yue (CHN). The first game went to a grueling 23-25 in Yue’s favor, before Li took things in hand,
winning 23-25, 21-17, 21-15.
Macau Open 2018: Lee Yong Dae and Kim Gi Jung victorious, Team Yonex wins three categories
Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet, on the other hand, seemed to be in control from the very start. They
beat fellow Hong Kong pair Lee Chun Hei Reginald and Chau Hoi Wah 21-14, 21-15 in just over half an
hour.
YONEX French Open 2018: Akane Yamaguchi victorious in
upset of World No. 1
Paris — Akane Yamaguchi (JPN) may have held her World No. 1 ranking for just two weeks back in April of
this year, but at the YONEX French Open 2018, she made a compelling case for why she’s still in the con-
versation after defeating Tai Tsu Ying (TPE) — who’s held the number one spot for nearly two years, with
the exception of those two weeks in April — in a pitched, one-hour-and-17-minute match.
The match was clearly going to be close from the start, as both women traded points, with Yamaguchi
maintaining a slim lead through the first game. Tai levelled towards the end but Yamaguchi hung on to take
it at 22-20. The momentum swung in Tai’s favor for the second game and forced the match to go to a decid-
ing third. It was here that Yamaguchi’s inexhaustible stamina won out, and she eventually closed out the
match, 22-20, 17-21, 21-13, for her second title of the year.
“I’ve lost to her on many occasions, so of course it was a big
challenge for me against Tai Tzu Ying, since she’s the top
player in the world,” she told BWF.
In women’s doubles, World Champions Mayu Matsumoto and
Wakana Nagahara (JPN) took the podium for their second major
win since the World Championships in August. They faced a fel-
low #TeamYonex pair in Bulgarian sisters, Stefani and Gabriela
Stoeva, who were appearing in their first major final. The Stoeva
sisters fought well but it was not enough to effectively threaten the
eventual victory of one of Japan’s top women’s doubles pairs, as
Matsumoto and Nagahara won in straight games, 21-14, 21-19.
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ERSA PRO STRINGER // ISSUE 8-2018