On May 1, Beijing time, the Badminton Asian Championships are underway. The ongoing is the individual final, with The National Feathers' Wang Zhiyi taking on Japan's Akane Yamaguchi. Akane Yamaguchi is ranked second in the world and the number one seed in women's singles at this Asian Championships, and Wang Zhiyi is ranked 16th in the world. In the semifinals, Wang Zhiyi defeated South Korea's Ahn Hyun-ying 2:1 on aggregate, and Akane Yamaguchi eliminated Sindu by a 2:1 total score.
It is worth mentioning that Akane Yamaguchi's semi-final match against Sindu is quite controversial. In the first set, Sindhu won the first set 21:13. In the second set, Sindu was full of momentum, leading 11:6 to take the lead into a technical timeout. Everyone thought Sindhu would win 2-0. But unexpectedly, there was a small episode in the game, and the referee on duty sentenced Sindu for delaying the game, delaying time, and directly losing 1 point.
As was customary, referees would give a verbal warning, followed by a yellow card warning, and finally a red card warning with a deduction of 1 point. At that time, in the semi-finals, the referee directly awarded points. The 1-pointer completely disrupted Sindu's offensive momentum, and the mentality fluctuated very much, and eventually lost the game. After the game, Sindu complained about the referee's unfair judgment and expressed serious dissatisfaction with the referee's principle of handling and slime.
In the women's singles final, the first set, the two sides started very cautiously, drawing 2:2. Guoyu youngster Wang Zhiyi played very patiently and has been looking for opportunities to break through the counterattack. Akane Yamaguchi has a strong running ability, leading 11:8 to take the lead into the technical suspension. After the timeout, Akane Yamaguchi extended the score to 13:8. Subsequently, Wang Zhiyi scored five consecutive points, 13:13 draw. Next, Akane Yamaguchi stabilized her position and scored consecutively, winning the first set at 21:15 and leading 1:0.
In the second set, Akane Yamaguchi made a lot of unnecessary mistakes in the opening, and Wang Zhiyi once led 10:5. Akane Yamaguchi chased until 8:10. Wang Zhiyi stopped the situation of losing points, leading 11:8 to take the lead into the technical suspension. After the timeout, Wang Zhiyi led 13:11. With Wang Zhiyi leading 14:11, Akane Yamaguchi accidentally fell down because of the ball and her knee was worn out, and asked for a medical suspension. Akane Yamaguchi played hard and her knees were bleeding.
After the timeout, Akane Yamaguchi's form declined, and Wang Zhiyi seized the opportunity to win the set point at 20:11. In the end, Wang Zhiyi successfully won a set 21:13, and the two sides drew 1:1. The game entered the decider, and today Wang Zhiyi dared to fight. At halftime, Coach Natsukizawa told his disciples that Akane Yamaguchi would also make mistakes, control themselves, and then find a way to attack.
In the decider, Akane Yamaguchi started 2:0, and then Wang Zhiyi won 4:2. Wang Zhiyi accelerated, leading 7:3, and Akane Yamaguchi again asked for a medical suspension. After the suspension, Wang Zhiyi took an 11:5 lead into the technical suspension. In the end, Wang Zhiyi won the game at 21:19, defeating top seed Akane Yamaguchi 2:1 on aggregate, winning the Asian Championship women's singles title for the first time in her career.