There was hardly any surprise in the title victory for Indonesia’s top seeded star Tommy Sugiarto in the 2015 Vietnam Open Badminton tournament on Sunday. In the men’s singles final played at Ho Chi Minh City, Sugiarto defeated the Korean veteran Lee Hyun Il in two games. The Indonesian thus completed his tournament run without dropping a single game. It was apt that the final was contested between tournament’s two top seeds. In the women’s final, however, the title bout featured two unseeded teenaged players from Japan and Indonesia and the 70-minute battle was finally won by Japan’s Saena Kawakami, who defeated Indonesian Fitriani Fitriani in three hard-fought games to take the title. In men’s doubles, China’s no.1 seeds Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen defeated their countrymen Huang Kaixiang/Wang Sijie in an easy match. the women’s doubles was won by Thailand’s fourth seeded pair of Jongkonphan Kittiharakul/Rawinda Prajongjai, who disposed of the eighth seeded Indonesian pair of Suci Rizky Andini/Maretha Dea Giovani. The mixed doubles crown was claimed by China’s fifth seeds Huang Kaixiang/Huang Dongping, who beat South Korea’s Solgyu Choi/Yoo Jung Chae. With that match the curtain came down on the 2015 Vietnam Open.
Tommy Sugiarto’s marvelous run in 2015 Vietnam Open Badminton Tournament culminated in his title victory on Sunday at Nguyen Du gymnasium in Ho Chi Minh City. The no.1 seeded Indonesian played against 33-year old Korean veteran and no.2 seed Lee Hyun Il in the final. Though the score-line would fail to indicate, Sugiarto had an easy passage in the first game, which he dominated from start to finish. However, Lee showed formidable resistance in the second game and opened up a big 11-6 lead at the break. Not to be outdone, the Indonesian slowly crawled back into the game with controlled display and wiped off Lee’s advantage. As Sugiarto obtained the 18-17, Lee seemed to be running out of his stamina. Tommy Sugiarto swiftly claimed the game and finished a 21-19, 21-19 victor to lift the Vietnam Open Crown.
The Cinderella-like run of Indonesian teenager Fitriani Fitriani ended in her women singles final against Japan’s unseeded player the 18-year old Saena Kawakami. Fitriani, who is not 17 yet, has progressed to final by beating many stars several years older to her. The two youngsters fought hard in the first game that ended in favor of the Japanese star at 26-24. But Fitriani bounced back in the second game and forced the decider by winning at 21-18. At the start of the third game, it was difficult to predict, who the winner could be. But Kawakami wore down Fitriani by neat placements and carefully controlled play. The Indonesian lapsed into unforced errors and Kawakami took the women’s crown by beating Fitriani Fitriani 26-24, 18-21, 21-10 after a 70-minute teen battle.
The men’s doubles final was an all-China affair, in which the top seeded pair of Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen defeated their compatriots Huang Kaixiang &Wang Sijie 21-8, 21-16 in just 25 minutes in a dominant display. In women’s doubles, Thailand’s 4th seeds Jongkonphan Kittiharakul/Rawinda Prajongjai outplayed 8th seeded Indonesians Suci Rizky Andini/Maretha Dea Giovani 21-14, 21-12 to win the title. The mixed doubles crown was won by China’s 5th seeds Huang Kaixiang/Huang Dongping, who defeated the South Korean pair of Solgyu Choi/Yoo Jung Chae 21-19, 21-12 in a 36 minute match.