From November 12 to 17, 2024, the Kumamoto Masters Japan 2024 took place in Kumamoto, Japan.
Let’s go back today to this super500 tournament, where we find some players who have been through the Orléans Masters Badminton!
Men's singles
Quarter-finals
We find several players who have passed through the OMB, including some when the tournament was called Orléans International.
The Malaysian LEE Zii Jia, who came to Orléans in 2017, lost in 3 sets and a close score to the Indonesian Jonatan CHRISTIE (21-12, 18-21, 18-21).
For the shortest match of these men's quarter-finals, 1h02 all the same, LI Shi Feng and CHI Yu Jen had come from China to the Orleans tournament respectively in 2019 and 2017. It was LI Shi Feng who won the match after a tight first set, but lost, and a drop in form on his opponent's side (19-21, 21-11, 21-7).
The third quarter-final of this tournament pits Christo POPOV, who has played in 3 editions of the OMB, against the world number 2, the Dane Viktor AXELSEN. The latter snatches his place in the semi-final from the Frenchman after a hard-fought match (21-18, 16-21, 21-18).
Malaysian LEONG Jun Hao, participant of the OMB 2022, won his match in 3 sets and 1h20 of play against the Japanese Kodai NARAOKA (21-17, 9-21, 21-16). Semi-finals Malaysian LEONG secured a place in the final after a match almost as long as his quarter-final (1h17) against Indonesian Jonatan CHRISTIE (10-21, 21-18, 22-20).
LI Shi Feng, world number 9 player, beats double Olympic champion AXELSEN in 2 sets (21-16, 21-15). Final Despite the matches still being contested, LEONG Jun Hao lost in 2 sets to the Chinese LI (21-10, 21-13). The 50 minutes of play difference between the two badminton players may have tired the Malaysian. Women's singles Quarter-finals The first women's quarter-final pits two former OMB participants against each other: Gregoria Mariska TUNJUNG and Mia BLICHFELDT. The winner of the Hylo Open earlier this month lost to the world number 8 (16-21, 18-21).
The second quarter-final pits two Japanese compatriots against each other, Akane YAMAGUCHI winning in 3 sets against Aya OHORI (18-21, 21-15, 21-13).
Thai Pornpawee CHOCHUWONG, who came to Orléans in 2021, won her match against her fellow citizen Supanida KATETHONG (21-19, 21-11).
Korean SIM Yu Jin won her match against Canadian Michelle LI in 3 sets after a dominant recovery of the second set (16-21, 21-9, 21-15). Semi-finals Indonesian TUNJUNG won a hard-fought 3-set match against Korean SIM in just under an hour (18-21, 21-17, 21-19).
For her part, the Japanese YAMAGUCHI largely dominated the first set, before giving herself a scare by losing the second. She won the match in a tight third set that kept the spectators in suspense for 1h11 (21-9, 12-21, 21-18). Final Akane YAMAGUCHI took first place in the tournament in just over half an hour against Indonesian Gregoria Mariska TUNJUNG with a mirror score (21-12, 21-12). Men's doubles Quarter-finals The Japanese pair HOKI/KOBAYASHI won against the Korean pair JIN/SEO in a high-tension match with a score rarely achieved (21-18, 29-27). Unfortunately, the Koreans were unable to catch up with the Japanese rhythm to play the third set.
Indonesians CARNANDO/MAULANA (the latter of whom participated in the 2019 edition of the OMB) take their place in the semi-final against the Chinese CHEN/LIU by beating them by an identical score in the first and second sets (21-15, 21-15).
In the third quarter-final, we find two Indonesian pairs ALFIAN/ARDIANTO and FIKRI/MARTHIN (FIKRI having also participated in the OMB 2019). It is the first who wins at the end of a match of more than an hour of play (17-21, 21-16, 21-18).
The Malaysian pair AZRIYN/TAN won the match against the Taiwanese pair CHIU/WANG (21-19, 21-19). Semi-finals Japanese Takuro HOKI and Yugo KOBAYASHI eliminated Malaysians Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub AZRIYN and TAN Wee Kiong in a 2-set match (21-12, 21-15).
The second semi-final is once again played between two Indonesian pairs. The winners of the previous round match, Fajar ALFIAN and Muhammad Rian ARDIANTO, once again won against their compatriots Leo Rolly CARNANDO and Bagas MAULANA (21-18, 21-13). Final The Japanese pair HOKI/KOBAYASHI lost the first set to the Indonesian pair, but the Japanese managed to recover the second set. The third was won by Fajar ALFIAN and Muhammad Rian ARDIANTO, depriving their opponents of a title at home (21-15, 17-21, 21-17). Women's doubles Quarter-finals The Japanese pair MATSUYAMA/SHIDA, who came to the OMB in 2019, secured a place in the semi-finals by beating the Korean pair KIM/KONG, without too much difficulty (21-13, 21-15).
The Chinese pair LIU/TAN, winners of the CLASH ROYALE Arctic Open and finalists of this year's VICTOR Denmark Open, won their quarter-final in 3 sets against a fellow pair JIA/ZHANG (17-21, 21-11, 21-16).
Another Japan/Korea duel was won by the Japanese FUKUSHIMA/MATSUOMOTO against LEE/LEE, but played in 3 sets and over 1h20 of play (21-13, 18-21, 21-17).
For the last quarter-final of this tournament, the Chinese LI/LUO have a match that is certainly rather quick, but no less demanding, because the Taiwanese HU/JHENG (HU Ling Fang having participated 3 times in the OMB before the pandemic) held on to the score in each set (22-20, 21-19). Semi-finals The Chinese LIU Sheng Shu and TAN Ning once again showed their dominance by eliminating the Japanese Nami MATSUYAMA and Chiharu SHIDA (21-12, 21-18).
The Japanese Yuki FUKUSHIMA and Mayu MATSUMOTO managed to defeat the second Chinese pair LI Yi Jing and LUO XU Min in 2 sets (21-15, 21-11). Final The unhesitating match by the Chinese LIU/TAN ended in a resounding victory. They beat the Japanese pair FUKUSHIMA/MATSUMOTO in two sets (21-15, 21-5) and won a new title. Mixed doubles Quarter-finals The Malaysian pair GOH/LAI won with a comfortable lead over the Japanese pair MIDORIKAWA/SAITO (21-16, 21-13).
The French GICQUEL/DELRUE, winners of the OMB 2019, secured a place in the semi-finals by beating the Thais OUPTHONG/SUDJAIPRAPARAT (21-14, 22-20).
The shortest match of these quarter-finals (26 min) took place between the Chinese pair GUO/CHEN and the American pair SMITH/GAI. CHEN Fang Hui and Jennie GAI came to Orléans in 2019 and 2022 respectively. The Chinese left only a few points to the Americans (21-11, 21-14).
The Thai pair PUAVARANUKROH/PAEWSAMPRAN eliminated the second Malaysian pair of these quarter-finals HOO/CHEN (21-17, 21-16). Semi-finals In a sort of return match, the Thais Dechapol PUAVARANUKROH and Supissara PAEWSAMPRAN play against the Malaysian pair GOH Soon Huat and LAI Shevon Jemie. Despite a tight match in 3 sets and a little over 1 hour of play, the result is the same as in the semi-final: the Malaysians are beaten by the Thais (21-18, 20-22, 14-21).
The French Thom GICQUEL and Delphine DELRUE reached the final by dominating the Chinese pair GUO Xin Wa and CHEN Fang Hui in two sets (21-14, 21-11). Final Unfortunately and despite a very good run, Thom and Delphine lost in the final after fiercely defending their points. This great match of 1h02 in 3 sets was won by the Thais Dechapol PUAVARANUKROH and Supissara PAEWSAMPRAN (21-16, 10-21, 21-17). Let's salute the performance of our French players once again! We'll be back very soon to relive together and follow the players who came to the Orléans Masters Badminton presented by VICTOR during the 2024 edition of the Syed Modi India International in Lucknow, India.
