On This Day: Two All England Hoodoos Busted
At the 2011 edition of the Yonex All England Open, three Japanese women turned instant sporting heroes in their country in a single day.
· PREM KUMAR
Arena Birmingham provided the stage as doubles pair Mizuki Fujii/Reika Kakiiwa and singles star Eriko Hirose successfully navigated their way past the semifinal stage in straight games.
The significance of their victories? They broke two long-standing curses for the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’ at the world’s oldest badminton tournament.
By seeing off compatriots Shizuka Matsuo/Mami Naito, Fujii and Kakiiwa emulated what Kimiko Jinnai/Hisako Mori did 20 years earlier at Wembley Arena. Hirose then rose to the occasion, emerging as the only female shuttler from Japan after Saori Kondo in 1979 to reach the singles final. Hirose beat Bulgarian Petya Nedelcheva 21-15 22-20 in her last four duel.