Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen yesterday failed to defend his championship title at the Korea Open, losing to world No. 1 Kento Momota of Japan in the men’s singles final.
World No. 2 Chou lost 19-21 and 17-21 in Incheon, South Korea.
Momota took an early 11-6 lead, but even though Chou rallied back to tie the score three times, Momota ended up clinching the first game by two.
Photo: AFP
The score remained tight in the second game, with Chou managing to close the gap to 17-19 before Momota won the match.
The loss marks Chou’s sixth consecutive defeat to Momota. Chou has only won twice in 12 career matchups against the Japanese shuttler.
Still, Chou has had a great season so far, winning three singles titles in Indonesia, Thailand and Taipei and advancing to the Korea Open final two years in a row.
In the women’s final, China’s He Bingjiao defeated Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon 18-21, 24-22, 21-17.
South Korea dominated the women’s doubles, with Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong beating compatriots Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan 13-21, 21-19, 21-17.
Indonesian pairing Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto defeated Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda of Japan 21-16, 21-17 to clinch the men’s doubles title.
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