It was gold for the host nation in both the Men’s Doubles and Women’s Doubles events at the Japan Open in Kobe on Sunday 4th July 2010.
Furthermore, both titles were won by outsiders; not the top Japanese partnerships and secondly it was very much a vote for youth, a vote for those who are pressing for a place in the first team.
None of the victors appeared for Japan in the vital matches contested at the recent Liebherr World Team Championships nor in 2008 at the Beijing Olympic Games.
Followed in Footsteps Kenta Matsudaira and Koki Niwa combined to secure the Men’s Doubles crown to follow in the footsteps of Yuka Ishigaki and Yuri Yamanashi who, one match earlier, had won the Women’s Doubles title.
At the final hurdle Kenta Matsudaira and Koki Niwa defeated Hong Kong’s Jiang Tianyi and Leung Chu Yan in a full distance seven games contest but one in which they dominated the deciding game. They won 11-1.
Meanwhile, in one game less, Yuka Ishigaki and Yuri Yamanashi overcame Chinese Taipei’s Cheng I-Ching and Huang Yi-Hua.
Improving Teams It was for the pairs in the Women’s Doubles final a sign that they are both becoming an increasingly potent force on the ITTF Pro Tour.
At the Indian Open in June, Cheng I-Ching and Huang Yi-Hua clinched gold having in February reached the semi-final stage in Doha at the Qatar Open.
Similarly, Yuka Ishigaki and Yuri Yamanashi had shown previous good form on the ITTF Pro Tour; in 2009 they reached the semi-final stage of the Women’s Doubles event at the KAL Korean Open.
Previous Form Equally Kenta Matsudaira and Koki Niwa had previously illustrated their potential on the international stage.
At the 2008 World Junior Championships in Madrid they reached the semi-final stage whilst in 2009 in the Indian city of Lucknow they had progressed to the same round.
New ITTF Pro Tour Horizons However, for both Kenta Matsudaira and Koki Niwa and for the outfit of Jiang Tianyi and Leung Chu Yan it was very much new territory on the ITTF Pro Tour.
The previous best for both partnerships was a quarter-final appearance.
Kenta Matsudaira and Koki Niwa reached the quarter-finals of the Men’s Doubles event at the KAL Korean Open in 2009 and at the Kuwait Open earlier this year; whilst for Jiang Tianyi and Leung Chu Yan, their previous best had been in 2009 at the Harmony China Open.
Sweet Music In Kobe, they were in harmony but at the end of the day it was Japan who called the tune; sweet music for the host nation.
Yuri Yamanashi (foreground) and Yuka Ishigaki (back), the Women’s Doubles champions in Kobe.
