The top seeds fell hard on day 3 at the YONEX Northern Marianas Open. Eight of the tournament’s highest-ranked players are out, and with the field narrowing, the titles are suddenly up for grabs.
Three number-one seeds went down across three disciplines. In mixed doubles, Mohit Jaglan/Lakshita Jaglan (IND) never found their rhythm, folding to Ampo/Tamaki (JPN) 21-10, 21-11.
In women’s singles, top seed Ella Lin (USA) couldn’t close the gap against Nodoka Sunakawa (JPN).
The Wang Yu-Kai (TPE) vs. Kim Hae Deun (KOR) match was billed as must-watch, and Kim delivered. He set the pace immediately, pushed the Chinese Taipei player around the court, and showed exactly why he made last year’s final. Ranked over 100 spots below Wang in the world rankings, Kim sent the top seed home 21-12, 21-11.
The upsets didn’t stop at number one.
Men’s singles: Second seed Shogo Ogawa (JPN) looked like a lock against world No. 287 Jeong Min Seon (KOR). However, looks can be deceiving. After a tight first game, Jeong ran away with the second, winning 21-19, 21-12 and booking his first-ever quarterfinal at an open international tournament.
Third seed Choi Ji Hoon (KOR) started slow, clawed back to force a decider, then couldn’t lock things down. Fifteenth seed Koo Takahashi (JPN) had other plans, closing it out 21-10, 19-21, 21-14.
Women’s singles: Both the second and third seeds bowed out of the competition. Second seed Tonrug Saeheng (THA) gritted through pain in the late stages of the match but couldn’t hold off Japan’s Hirari Mizui. Earlier, Korea’s Lee So Yul fell to Nayu Shirakawa (JPN).
Other notable results:
- Tian Qi Zhang/Audrey Chang (USA) kept their mixed doubles run alive, dismantling Kota Ogawa/Misaki Kurashima (JPN) 21-12, 21-19.
“I was really happy with our performance today — I got to enjoy the game a little more,” said Chang. “I didn’t want to force it; I didn’t want to set the bar too high.” Zhang added: “We were slightly better than yesterday, and we could see that. We’re just hoping each day we get better and better.”
- Singapore’s Jaslyn Hooi clawed back from the brink to stay alive in the women’s singles draw. Down 18-12 to Japan’s Nana Hisamoto, she regrouped and stormed back to win 21-19, 22-20.
“I wasn’t focusing on the present — I was focused on the score, thinking ‘how do I get back?'” Hooi said. “At 18, I realised I just had to focus on the rally. Keep the shuttle in, and capitalise where I could.”
- New Zealand’s Raphael Deloy/Dylan Soedjasa gave top seeds Wei Chun Wei/Po Chih Yang (TPE) a real fight in men’s doubles. They didn’t get the win, but the Kiwi pair announced themselves in one of their first outings together.
