Dubai // Japan had the finest double success in its badminton history when Kento Momota and Nozomi Okuhara captured the men’s and women’s singles titles at the tour’s year-end flagship event, the Superseries finals.
Momota was involved in one piece of history last year when he helped his country win the Thomas Cup world team championship for the first time. On Sunday, he created another by beating Viktor Axelsen, the world No 6 from Denmark by 21-15, 21-12 in the rather tame final.
This result was hardly in doubt from the middle of the first game on, but the earlier triumph of his compatriot, Okuhara, who beat Wang Yihan, the former world champion from China, by 22-20, 21-18, certainly was.
Okuhara had to recover from game point down at 20-19 in the first game, which she very luckily did with two successive net cords. Then she trailed 9-15 in the second game, before summoning just enough energy to wear Wang down.
Momota knew from early on that he had the game to beat the heavy-legged Axelsen, who left much of his strength and mobility on the court yesterday when he halted Chen Long, the world No 1 from China.
“I got lucky on a few points but I stuck to my strategy,” said Momota, who moved his opponent around with overhead drops or net shots followed by clears or lifts to the back, and occasionally interspersed it with sudden explosive jump smashes.
Okuhara, by contrast, battled against the odds as she had all tournament. Her rallying and containment was often physically draining for her as well as opponents, but she always “found something emotionally when I needed it”, she said.
Amazingly Okuhara also beat Carolina Marin, the world No 1 from Spain, twice during the week, as well as Saina Nehwal, the former world No 1 from India, and Tai Tzu Ying, the titleholder from Taiwan.
Although slow shuttles helped her during this marvellous sequence of wins, which were all completed in straight games, her success still prompted questions as to whether she is now an Olympic medal candidate.
Wisely she deflected them. Momota however was a little more comfortable talking about doing well in Rio next year. As he is 21 and Okuhara still 20, their double triumph suggests that a changing of the guard may be imminent.
One of the sport’s legends, Peter Gade, the former world No 1 from Denmark, certainly thinks so. “It does look like a shift in the generations,” he said. “It is certainly close to a generation move in the men’s singles.”
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SUE GRAY'S FINDINGS
"Whatever the initial intent, what took place at many of these gatherings and the
way in which they developed was not in line with Covid guidance at the time.
"Many of these events should not have been allowed to happen. It is also the case that some of the
more junior civil servants believed that their involvement in some of these events was permitted given the attendance of senior leaders.
"The senior leadership at the centre, both political and official, must bear responsibility for this culture.
"I found that some staff had witnessed or been subjected to behaviours at work which they had felt concerned about but at times felt unable to raise properly.
"I was made aware of multiple examples of a lack of respect and poor treatment of security and cleaning staff. This was unacceptable."
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Haltia.ai
Started: 2023
Co-founders: Arto Bendiken and Talal Thabet
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: AI
Number of employees: 41
Funding: About $1.7 million
Investors: Self, family and friends
if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
Men from Barca's class of 99
Crystal Palace - Frank de Boer
Everton - Ronald Koeman
Manchester City - Pep Guardiola
Manchester United - Jose Mourinho
Southampton - Mauricio Pellegrino
MATCH INFO
Hoffenheim v Liverpool
Uefa Champions League play-off, first leg
Location: Rhein-Neckar-Arena, Sinsheim
Kick-off: Tuesday, 10.45pm (UAE)
The specs: 2017 Maserati Quattroporte
Price, base / as tested Dh389,000 / Dh559,000
Engine 3.0L twin-turbo V8
Transmission Eight-speed automatic
Power 530hp @ 6,800rpm
Torque 650Nm @ 2,000 rpm
Fuel economy, combined 10.7L / 100km
How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?
If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.
Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.
Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.
Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).
Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.
Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.
By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.
As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.
Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.
He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”
This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”
Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.
