Olympic bronze medallist Hayata Hina overcame compatriot Harimoto Miwa 4-3 (11-4, 11-8, 4-11, 6-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-9) in an all-Japanese women’s singles final at the WTT Champions Frankfurt on Sunday (9 November).
The 17-year-old Harimoto was on the back foot from the outset, with Hayata dominating the opening game.
Harimoto roared back into the contest, levelling the scores at 2-2 before she got her nose in front for the first time in the contest.
Hayata fought back to make it 6-6 in the fifth game, but Harimoto would not allow her countrywoman to dictate matters to take the lead.
Momentum swung back in Hayata’s favour as she won the fifth game to re-establish her lead at 3-2.
The 25-year-old Hayata was on the cusp of closing out the match with an 8-5 lead before Harimoto launched her fightback. The Japanese prodigy equalised at 9-9 before winning the game to send the contest into the decider.
Riding high on confidence, Harimoto found a foothold early in the final game, but Hayata would not back down, levelling the scores at 6-6.
The players traded points with the lead changing hands in the latter stages before Hayata established a two-point lead (10-8), which ultimately led to victory.
AloJapan.com