TOKYO, Japan — The TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2022 came to a close on Sunday, August 28th with record breaking victories for Team Yonex. At the very first World Championships hosted in Japan, Malaysian men’s doubles Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik (MAS) claimed the first gold medal for their nation in the history of the event, marking this tournament as one of incredible firsts.
Final’s day kicked off with a history making victory from men’s doubles Olympic bronze medalists, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik , over four-time world champions Hendra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan (INA). Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik made it into the semifinals at the 1000 level Indonesia Open and the 750 level Malaysia Open previously this year but have been unable to claim a title. With this record-breaking victory, the Malaysian pair claimed not only their first World Championships title but the first gold in history for their nation. The score from this historical match ended with 21-19, 21-14.
Women’s doubles followed soon after with a swift but high-tension match between Olympic silver medalists Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan (CHN) and Olympic bronze medalists Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong (KOR). Chen and Jia seized gold, making this their 3rd World Championships title and second gold in a row. The final score being 22-20, 21-14.
Olympic gold medalist Viktor Axelsen (DEN) faced off against three-time World Junior Champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn (THA) in men’s doubles, where Viktor showed yet again how unstoppable he is. Viktor has been dominating each tournament he enters, and the 2022 World Championships is no different. The match ended in two swift games. 21-5, 21-16.
Next up, was the highly anticipated match between world No.1 women’s singles Akane Yamaguchi (JPN) and Olympic gold medalist Chen Yu Fei (CHN). After a hard-fought match of three games, Akane Yamaguchi claimed another World Championship title for the second year in a row in her home nation. Akane picked up the first game quickly, dropped the second but claimed the final match spurred on by an enthusiastic crowd. The match ended with a strong score of 21-12, 10-21, 21-14.
Mixed doubles came to a close swiftly with an overwhelming victory from world No.1 pair Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong (CHN) over Arisa Higashino and Yuta Watanabe (JPN). Zheng and Huang started off strong, determined to leave no room for Higashino and Watanabe to gain a foothold. The match was over in two quick games with a score of 21-13, 21-16.
Yonex is a proud supporter of the world’s best athletes and actively provides the expertise of the Yonex Stringing Team, as well as premium on-court equipment such as court mats, net poles, and shuttlecocks.