Yushi Tanaka
Indonesian favourites Putri Kusuma Wardani and Alwi Farhan were both beaten in the finals of the Swiss Open badminton championships.
Top seeded Putri was beaten 12-21, 15-21 in a 40-minute women’s singles final seventh seed Supanida Katethong of Thailand.
Unseeded Japanese Yushi Tanaka stepped up against sixth seeded Alwi, emerging 21-18, 21-12 in the 43-minute men’s singles final.
Putri, despite taking a 3-1 lead in the first game, came undone by her Thai rival, who picked up 10 unanswered points to take a 11-3 lead at the interval. Her rival piled on the pressure to take the first game.
It was a much closer second game, with both players tied at 9-9 and 11 only to see numerous unforced errors giving the advantage back to Supanida. Supanida reclaimed the lead and romped home 21-15.
Victory was Supanida’s best results this year. Her previous best this season was making the quarter-finals of the Thailand Master earlier this year. It was also her first Tour title since beating China’s Han Yue for the Thailand Open title two years ago.
The match between Alwi and Yushu was tight in the opening stages with both players tied at 10-10 before Tanaka taking the lead at the interval.
Alwi, the 2023 World Junior Champion, fought back to take the lead to 14-12 and the it was point for point battle with the duo tied at 15-15 and 18-18 before Tanaka’s solid attacking game prevailed.
The second was virtually a one-way traffic with Tanaka leading by as much as seven points, leading 16-9 before completing a well deserved 21-12 win over the SEA Games champion, and with it the title.
It was Tanaka’s first Tour title since claiming a brace in 2024, winning the Orleans Open and US Open.
FINAL RESULTS
Men’s singles: Yushi Tanaka (Jpn) bt Alwi Farhan (Ina) 21-18, 21-12
Men’s doubles: Lee Fang-Chih-Lee Fang-Jen (Tpe) bt Daniel Lundgaard-Mads Vestergaard (Den) 21-18, 21-13
Women’s singles: Supanida Katethong (Tha) bt Putri Kusuma Wardani (Ina) 21-11, 21-15
Women’s doubles: Li Yijing-Wang Yiduo (Chn) bt Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian (Chn) 21-10, 22-20
Mixed doubles: Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi (Chn) bt Zhu Yijun-Li Qian (Chn) 2-22, 21-15, 22-20
