<p>Hirose outlasted Bulgarian Petya Nedelcheva 21-15, 22-20 to become the first Japanese woman to reach the final since 1979.<br /><br />"We wanted to bring some good news back home," she told reporters, acutely conscious of the scenes back home after a devastating earthquake and tsunami on Friday.<br />However, Hirose couldn’t get the better of World number one Wang Shixian of China to bow out 24-22, 21-18 in the final.<br /><br />Fujii and Kakiiwa beat fellow Japanese Shizuka Matsuo and Mami Naito 21-19, 21-17 to become the first women's doubles pair in the final since 1991, and will now meet the third seeded Chinese pairing of Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang.</p>
<p>Hirose outlasted Bulgarian Petya Nedelcheva 21-15, 22-20 to become the first Japanese woman to reach the final since 1979.<br /><br />"We wanted to bring some good news back home," she told reporters, acutely conscious of the scenes back home after a devastating earthquake and tsunami on Friday.<br />However, Hirose couldn’t get the better of World number one Wang Shixian of China to bow out 24-22, 21-18 in the final.<br /><br />Fujii and Kakiiwa beat fellow Japanese Shizuka Matsuo and Mami Naito 21-19, 21-17 to become the first women's doubles pair in the final since 1991, and will now meet the third seeded Chinese pairing of Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang.</p>