Maybe Zhang Yiman, who had a tougher route to the final , first that war of attrition with Marin in the QFs, especially, going the full distance, then followed by another less demanding but still considered hard-fought match with Nozomi in the SFs, was affected by the toll of accumulated fatigue in the title bout with her fellow teammate Han Yue today.
Initially, ZYM on the get-go started strongly and raced off to a comfortable lead, 6-1, 9-2, 12-4, threatening to run away with the set. But, no, all of a sudden, Han Yue dug her heels in and reeled off 6 straight points to close the gap to just two points, then drew level at 14-all. Thereafter ZYM pulled away with another three-point lead, 17-14, before HY again clawed back 15-17, 18-all and abruptly finished it off with three points in a row to take the opening game.
In G2, right off the blocks, HY never looked back, stamped her authority as ZYM wilted to gain a commanding lead, 11-4, then at point 14 for HY , ZYM began to reassert herself and chipped away at HY’s hefty lead, but her last-ditch effort was all in vain as HY spurted to the finishing line, 21-16, to lift the trophy.
In fairness, we’ve to admit that ZYM wasn’t at her best on final’s day, particularly obvious in G2, when you compare it with how she conducted her game the previous few rounds. In conclusion, I’d venture to say the jury is still out , or it’s certainly is still too early to say, as to which of these two is the better player or brighter prospects going forward. By the way, it’s their first international meeting, therefore, I daresay, one match doesn’t prove anything.
For me, I’m more concerned about their age difference in that I feel more for ZYM, who at age 25 , it’s more pressing for her to achieve a breakthrough in her career, the sooner the better, whereas for the relatively young Han Yue, at age 22, time is on her side.