Bali: Japan’s World No. 7 women’s doubles pair – Nami Matsuyama/Chiharu Shida, who won the Indonesia Masters two weeks ago and Indonesia Open last Sunday, will get a chance to sweep the 3 Asian leg tournaments held in Bali after advancing to the final of 2021 BWF World Tour Finals on Saturday.
Facing the Tokyo Olympic gold medalists – Greysia Polii/Apriyani Rahayu of Indonesia in the semi-finals, Matsuyama/Shida survived an epic third-set tussle with Polii/Rahayu as the score was tied at 14-14, 15-15, 16-16 all the way until 21-21 before the Japanese pair reeled off two consecutive points to close out the match 21-14, 13-21, 23-21 in 76 minutes.
“We tried to play our best in this match, trying to slow down the tempo, and fortunately we came out as the winner,” said Shida.
Meanwhile, Matsuyama also admitted that she faced a lot of trouble against Greysia/Apriyani’s defense, which made it difficult for her to maximize her attack.
“I didn’t play optimally today. I wasn’t able to convert a lot of points through my attacks,” said Matsuyama.
The victory over Polii/Rahayu brought Matsuyama/Shida to the final of the 2021 BWF World Tour Finals. They will face World No. 4 Kim So Yeong/Kong Hee Yong from South Korea.
In the women’s singles final, An Seyoung of Korea will meet PV Sindhu of India while Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino from Japan will take on Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand in the mixed doubles final.
