SHANGHAI ¨C Japan gambled by resting top-ranked Kento Momota and nearly paid the price, suffering a huge scare before battling back to beat Russia 3-2 in their Sudirman Cup opener on Monday.
The top seeds are bidding to win the mixed-team world championships for the first time, but a major shock was on the cards when the Japanese went down 2-1.
The unfancied Russians enjoyed surprise victories in the men¡¯s singles and men¡¯s doubles, before the Japanese fought back in the Chinese city of Nanning.
Japan, who are the favorites along with the hosts, decided to rest world champion Momota along with their first-choice men¡¯s pairing.
They were initially unaffected and won the mixed doubles in the opening rubber.
But Russia then took advantage of Japan¡¯s weakened side with Vladimir Malkov, ranked 62, beating Momota¡¯s replacement Kenta Nishimoto ¡ª ranked No. 10 in the world ¡ª and also winning the men¡¯s doubles.
But Japan¡¯s women saved the day, with world No. 2 Nozomi Okuhara thrashing Natalia Perminova in the women¡¯s singles to make it 2-2 in the tie.
The women¡¯s duo of Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota saw off Ekaterina Bolotova and Alina Davletova to save Japan from embarrassment.
¡°It was a relief to get the winning point,¡± said Fukushima.
¡°In the end it worked out well for us.¡±
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