(Reporter Junseok Yoon, Xports News) Tomoka Miyazaki (World No. 9), who is considered the future of Japanese badminton women’s singles, ended the tournament by losing in the round of 16 of the India Open women’s singles after a face-off between Japanese players.
Their advance to the quarterfinals was thwarted as they were defeated after a close full game by an opponent who had never lost in an international competition.
Miyazaki faced Japan’s Natsuki Niida (ranked 28th in the world) in the second round of the women’s singles at the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour India Open (Super 750) held in New Delhi, India on the 15th (Korean time) and lost with a game score of 1-2 (19-21 21-8 16-21).
The two players have faced each other five times in world competitions, with Miyazaki winning all of them. Niedira won for the first time in this India Open.
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The match on this day attracted great attention as a face-off between the next generation of Japanese women’s singles runners. The game unfolded as a close match with a tense atmosphere throughout.
Game 1 was intense from the beginning. Miyazaki took the lead first with four consecutive points, but Niidaira counterattacked and tied the score at 7-7. Afterwards, Niidara seemed to be winning by scoring consecutive points to widen the lead to 19-13, but Miyazaki scored seven consecutive points again to tie the game at 19-19.
In the final match, Niidara showed concentration and won game 1, 21-19.
In game 2, Miyazaki pushed hard from the beginning. Miyazaki, who took the lead by scoring 5 consecutive points at the start, continued to widen the score gap with stable management, and eventually won 21-8, bringing the game score to 1-1.
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Even in the three games where the outcome was decided, Miyazaki took the lead and seemed to be in control. However, Niidara immediately turned the tide by scoring 7 consecutive points, and a tight battle continued thereafter. In the end, Niida won the final game with a score of 21-16, confirming the game score of 2-1.
As a result, Miyazaki ended this tournament by being eliminated in the round of 16 of the India Open women’s singles.
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Despite being ranked 9th in the world, Miyazaki was eliminated in the round of 16 of last week’s Malaysia Open and is currently faltering, failing to advance to the quarterfinals of this tournament.
Nida, who advanced to the round of 16 instead of Miyazaki, will face world No. 2 powerhouse Wang Zhiyi (China) in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Photo = GGTM Sports Scene
Reporter Junseok Yoon jupremebd@xportsnews.com
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