“I started the week of playing in Japan with my mood of gratitude. For me, it is not easy to spend 6 months without playing and recovering,” Gunting said. He just returned after injury, so standing on the field was a positive result.
Gunting returned to international tournaments when attending Japan expanded (Super 750), and met a rather strong opponent. It was Naraoka Kodai, the host representative of the 7th seed. Naraoka has played relatively well in recent years, and this player continues to play on Gunting.
In set 1, Naraoka passed the lead after the break between the Hiep. The distance between the two sides is increasingly expanded, although the Japanese player does not have a series of continuous points is really big. Naraoka's struggling style really made Gunting difficult.
Entering Set 2, Gunting played better. The two sides chase each other each score. But at the decision time, Naraoka once again played better. He won 21-19, thereby closing the competition for 53 minutes, a relatively long time for a 2 set match.
The victory over Gunting helped Naraoka win tickets to the second round, where his opponent was Lakakhya Sen. The Indian player played relatively well in the first round, when he passed Wang Zheng Xing. Meanwhile, Gunting shows many positive signals in the near future.
