NANJING, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Japan harvested a total of six medals, with two golds, two silvers and two bronzes at the 2018 BWF World Championships, registering a new high in the tournament after its first appearance in 1977.
In the women's doubles, which featured an all-Japanese match-up, No. 11 seed Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara defeated higher-ranked compatriots Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota to snatch the first gold. With three duos in the last four, Japan was no doubt the biggest winner in women's doubles.
Kento Momota, the most promising star in men's singles, defeated China's world No. 3 Shi Yuqi in a convincing 21-11, 21-13 victory. Coming back from his suspension given due to illegal gambling, the 23-year-old became the first Japanese male gold medalist at the world championships.
Breakthroughs can also be found elsewhere in the men's doubles, as Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda featured in the finals against China's Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen. Despite the defeat, it marked the debut of Japanese pair in the world championships final and added another silver for the country.
World No. 2 Akane Yamaguchi earned a bronze medal in her second appearance at the worlds after the loss to India's Pusarla V. Sindhu.
With the overall performance, Japan broke their best record in the worlds set last year in Glasgow, where the country bagged one gold, one silver and two bronzes. The 2016 Rio Olympic bronze medalist, Nozomi Okuhara, became the first Japanese to be crowned in world championships singles in Glasgow.
With its players claiming titles in major tournaments and its national team lifting the Uber Cup and finishing runners-up in Thomas Cup this year, Japan is showing itself to be a rising power in the world of badminton.
