Japan`s Kento Momota wins Indonesia Open

Jakarta: Japanese rising star Kento Momota crushed defending champion Jan O. Jorgensen of Denmark at the men`s singles finals to win the Indonesia Open on Sunday.

In a nail-biting 66-minute battle, the two-time world junior champion Momota showed grit and tenacity as he chased down every shot and battled for every point to a well-deserved upset win of 16-21, 21-19, 21-7.

Momota went down 16-21 in the first set, but never gave up and continued to engage the Dane in long rallies, formidable net play and on-point aggressive smashes to win the second set with a slim 21-19 scoreline.

There was a smile of triumph on his face as he took control of the third set. Last year`s men`s singles winner Jorgensen cracked under pressure and hit either too long or wide to trail by a wide margin and hand the men`s singles title to Momota. 

"I was nervous in the first game. Then I convinced myself that if I could win the second game, I would win the whole match," Momota said. "In future, I want to strengthen myself mentally," he added.

Jorgensen said he was "really disappointed" with his performance, especially in the second set.

"This was my game and I think I had all the chances I needed when I was leading 16-14 in the second set. Had been leading all the way so yes... really disappointing," he said.

In the third set, Momota "got a good start and he made some easy points and I made some mistakes", he said.

"And then suddenly he had a big lead and it`s tough to catch up," he added.

Thailand`s Ratchanok Intanon easily took down Japan`s Yui Hashimoto in straight games to clinch the women`s singles title.

Intanon, who was contesting the final for the second consecutive year, walloped the Japanese with solid, precise smashes and finished her off with a 21-11, 21-10 scoreline in only 42 minutes.

"I am happy to win," Intanon said. "The opponent appeared tired and not giving the maximum perhaps due to previous matches," she added.