After entering this week’s Blibli Indonesian Open in need of a strong showing to retain her top ranking, Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday pulled off a big win to move a step closer to her goal.
Tai, who had lost five of her previous six matches against Ratchanok Intanon before toppling her in Malaysia in April, outlasted her Thai rival again 21-18, 16-21, 21-12 in a battle that lasted just more than an hour.
Tai appeared to be in trouble in the first game, trailing 11-7 and 17-14, before rattling off seven of the final eight points to gain an early edge.
Photo: AFP
Ratchanok stepped up the pace a game later, opening a 12-6 lead after an early 5-5 stalemate, and protected her advantage to even the match.
However, Tai in the deciding game jumped out to a 13-6 lead and never let Ratchanok get closer than three points before putting her away.
The 25-year-old Taiwanese has plenty at stake in this tournament, one of only three top-tier HSBC Badminton World Federation World Tour Super 1000 events this year.
The defending champion aims to firmly establish herself as the top player in a season that has seen has play sparingly.
Her No. 1 ranking, which she has held since December 2016 save for two weeks, was in peril in Jakarta, as her lead over No. 2 Nozomi Okuhara of Japan, No. 3 Chen Yufei of China and No. 4 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan was down to only a few thousand ranking points.
Tai’s win yesterday means that she cannot be surpassed by Chen this week, but she will need to reach the finals of the US$1.25 million tournament to ensure her lead over Okuhara.
Chen and Okuhara played separate matches later yesterday for spots in the semi-finals.
Tai will next play the winner of yesterday’s quarter-final showdown between Yamaguchi and Nitchaon Jindapol of Thailand.
In the men’s singles, Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen continued his winning run by defeating Indonesian Jonatan Christie 16-21, 21-18, 21-14 to reach the semi-finals, where he is to face Kantaphon Wangcharoen of Thailand.
Chou has won all three of their meetings, including at the Asia Championships in April.
The 2025 International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Mr Universe Chinese Taipei competition began yesterday at Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City, with more than 150 athletes showcasing their physiques. It is the first time in 16 years that the IFBB has held a competition in Taiwan, the last being the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung. The professional bodybuilding contest is bringing together athletes from Taiwan and 16 other countries, including Malaysia, Japan, the US, France and Mexico. IFBB Chinese Taipei president Hsu An-chin said in an interview yesterday that the event came to Taiwan thanks to his lobbying efforts at last
Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday homered for the fifth consecutive game, tying a Los Angeles Dodgers franchise record. Yankees star Aaron Judge was the last player to homer in five consecutive games, accomplishing that feat last year. Ohtani, who leads the National League with 37 home runs, homered in the first inning off Minnesota Twins starter Chris Paddack. He hit a slow curveball 134m to center. He carried the bat midway down the first-base line and then did a bat flip. He did not hit a home run later in the game with the Dodgers trailing, but his presence was felt. With two outs
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Ben O’Connor won Thursday’s monster Alpine stage to the ski resort of Courchevel as three-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar responded to attacks from Jonas Vingegaard and dropped him to cement his grip on the yellow jersey. With just three stages left before the race ends in Paris, Pogacar looks poised to retain his title, with a comfortable lead of more than 4 minutes over Vingegaard, a two-time champion. Stage 18 featured three extremely difficult ascents, including the 26.4km climb of the Col de La Loze to the finish. At 2,304m, La Loze is the highest summit in this year’s Tour. Two
RSS