UBER CUP 2014 SF – Japan breaks India’s hope

Japan edged the home team with great difficulties to earn the right to challenge China in an Uber Cup final for the first time and a chance to echo the success of their male compatriots.

By Tarek Hafi.  Photos: Badmintonphoto (live)

The evening Uber Cup semi-final session saw the home team playing the mighty Japanese ladies for a place in the final.  India, as expected, was able to count on their never-give-up women’s singles aces, Saina Nehwal (pictured below) and Pusarla Venkata Sindhu as these claimed the first two points in this encounter beating Minatsu Mitani and Sayaka Takahashi respectively.

However both didn’t get the same treatment as Sindhu had to give, once again, all of her remaining power to grab this important second point.  It took one hour and twelve minutes for her to see off Takahashi, with a 19-21, 21-18, 26-24 scoreline.  The home crowd was possibly the main reason why the young Indian managed to achieve such a result as the sound of cheering partially hid the commentators’ voices on the live broadcast.

However, not impressed with the first two wins, the very consistent Japanese ladies came back into it, with another long battle where doubles specialist Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa faced the dangerous Misaki Matsutomo and Asaka Takahashi.  After one hour of intense fighting, the fittest of the two pairs set back Japan on the right track, enable to think again of victory.

Next on court was the ever-smiling Eriko Hirose who, despite few injuries, proved again she still belonged among the world’s best as she scored a convincing straight-game win over P. C. Thulasi.

With Japan now back level, there was still a chance they might lose their composure when Saina Nehwal and P. V. Sindhu (pictured below) returned to the courts to play the last and deciding doubles match.  However, Miyuki Maeda and Reika Kakiiwa (pictured top), heavy favourites against the Indian scratch pairing, kept their head straight, and relied on their experience to bring the deciding point home for Japan.

It finished 3-2 for the Japanese, who thus earned a tickets to their seventh Uber Cup final.  There, they will no doubt find the task harder as they are now asked to beat the titleholders, China, whom surprisingly, Japan has never faced in the final round of an Uber Cup.

Uber Cup final line-up:

China vs. Japan

Click here for complete semi-final results