Nozomi Okuhara makes it third time lucky as she finally grabs Hong Kong Open title
- Japanese ace beats her friend and rival Ratchanok in a thrilling one-hour contest in the final
- 2017 world champion from Omachi had lost her two previous Hong Kong Open finals
Diminutive Nozomi Okuhara stood tall by becoming the first Japanese to claim the women’s singles title at the Sunrise-Yonex Hong Kong Open on Sunday.
She defeated friend and rival Ratchanok Intanon, of Thailand, in a thrilling one-hour contest at the Coliseum in Hung Hom.
The two finalists, who are both 23 and grew up together on tour, hugged each other after the more determined Japanese prevailed 21-19, 24-22.
It was a good day for Okuhara’s teammates as Japan won two more titles from the five finals in the HK$3.2 million tournament, giving a glimpse what the Japanese would be capable of as 2020 Olympic Games hosts.
In the mixed doubles, Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino upset second seeds Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping, of China, 21-18, 21-14, while in the women’s doubles, top seeds Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota beat South Korea’s Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan, champions of the China Open last week, 21-18, 21-17. But Japan lost their two remaining events.