All England: Endo/Watanabe Make History
The finals stage of the YONEX All England would not have been unfamiliar for Hiroyuki Endo. What was unfamiliar for him was actually winning it.
· DEV SUKUMAR
The 33-year-old, who was in his fourth final yesterday – he’d lost the previous three, in 2013, 2014 and 2016 with then-partner Kenichi Hayakawa - finally had a turnaround in fortunes with his current partner – Yuta Watanabe.
The duo made history by becoming the first Japanese men’s doubles winners at the All England, after a 21-18 12-21 21-19 result over two-time champions Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo of Indonesia in 72 minutes. It was their sixth straight win over the Minions.
What is it that the Japanese do so well against the Minions that other pairs are unable to?