Sakura Mori of Japan overcame Swedish rival Ekholm Matilda to win the women's singles title at the ITTF World Tour India Open, here today.
Rankings wise, there was very little to separate both the players with the Swede ranked 32 and the Japanese 35.
Matilda had come into the final high on confidence, having won the doubles final alongside Hungary's Georgina Pota earlier this evening. She had also knocked the top seed out of the competition in the semifinals yesterday.
In the final, her played lacked the intensity she showed against the top seed while Mori was screaming after winning point as if her life depended on it.
Mori could have finished the final earlier had she not played safe while leading 8-5 in the sixth game. Matilda pounced on the opening to stretch the contest to the seventh game.
However, it was all Mori in the decider as she took a 6-0 lead before completing a 7-11, 11-5, 11-8, 12-10, 6-11, 8-11, 11-6 victory.
It ended up a double delight for the Japanese, who had also won the U-21 title here.
The Indian challenge in the competition had yesterday when 13-year-old prodigy from Japan, Tomokazu Harimoto, taught a lesson to the seasoned Sharath Kamal in the semifinals. Results (all finals):
Women's singles: [6] Sakura Mori (JPN) Beat [4] Matilda Ekholm (SWE) 7-11, 11-5, 11-8, 12-10, 6-11, 8-11, 11-6. Women's Doubles: [4]Matilda Ekholm (SWE)/[3] Georgina Pota (HUN) Beat [1] Hoi Kem Doo (HKG)/[2] Ho Ching Lee (HKG) - 9-11, 11-3, 5-11, 14-12, 11-8.
Men's Doubles: [9] Masataka Morizono (JPN)/[5] Yuya Oshima (JPN) Beat [10] Ruwen Filus (GER)/[12] Ricardo Walther (GER) 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-9.
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