Kong Hee Yong’s return to competitive badminton following a right knee surgery culminated in a dream title, with the women’s doubles final among the most dramatic in recent times.
Kong was out of action after the Badminton Asia Team Championships in February for the knee surgery and rehab; the world No.8 making a return with Kim Hye Jeong only at the DAIHATSU Japan Open 2026. The high point of the return was in the final game against Jia Yi Fan/Zhang Shu Xian, which went the Koreans’ way, 14-21 21-15 30-29. The see-sawing final game saw either side have six match points before Zhang Shu Xian blew a kill just wide, and the Koreans collapsing in a flood of emotions.
“I didn’t think I could reach the final after my surgery,” said Kong. “I want to thank Kim, she helped me a lot here, and I’m so happy with this title.”
With the final stretch of the third game featuring brilliant winners as well as errors from both sides, Kim said the key was to shut out the mistakes they had made.
“We made a lot of mistakes, but we just had to put in in the past and try not to repeat them.”
Meanwhile in women's singles, it has been four years since Pusarla V Sindhu won a title at the upper end of the HSBC BWF World Tour. Her last Super 500 title was over four years ago — the Singapore Open in May 2022. And while there were Super 300 titles and the Commonwealth Games gold in 2022, her last major title had come seven years ago, at the BWF World Championships 2019.
Highlights
» While Kim/Kong celebrated their first title of the year, their compatriots Kim Won Ho/Seo Seung Jae’s recent woes continued as they fell 21-19 21-17 to Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Shohibul Fikri. The world No.1, title record-setters in 2025, have now gone three tournaments without winning, while their opponents achieved their first since the China Open last year.
» Mixed doubles saw top seeds Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping hold off a strong challenge from Tang Chun Man/Tse Ying Suet, 21-14 14-21 21-15, to win their second title in a row.
» World No.5 Popov secured a dominant 21-11, 21-19 win over Watanabe Koki in a time of 49 minutes to clinch the men's singles title. The victory in Tokyo marked the Frenchman’s first major title since winning the 2026 European championships in April, and his second BWF World Tour win of the year, following on his success at the German Open 2026 in March.
Credits: BWF
