Japan's Rio Olympic winning pair Ayaka Takahashi and Misaki Matsutomo finished runners-up in the women's doubles at the BWF Super Series Finals on Sunday, succumbing 21-15, 13-21, 21-17 to China's Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan.
The top-ranked Japanese pair allowed the eighth-ranked Chinese to pull away from 3-3 to drop the first game. Five straight points from 11-9 steered them to tie the match in the second game, but they were edged in a tight third game in the 76-minute encounter.
"Not being able to play our way was the biggest reason (for the defeat)," Takahashi said. "We cowered in the third game, and they (the Chinese pair) used their brains. I was made to acknowledge that it's hard to get back to the condition I had for the Olympics."
Matsutomo said, "We sat back a little bit. We weren't good today but it's something we can learn from for next year."