Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen yesterday beat Denmark’s Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus 21-15, 17-21, 21-17 to move into the second round of the BWF World Championships men’s singles.
The world No. 2 Chou was pushed to the limit before getting the upper hand in a badminton battle that lasted 73 minutes on the championships’ opening day.
“The first round is always tough because you’re trying to get used to the wind and the shuttle,” Chou was quoted as saying on the BWF Web site. “I really needed to focus, but it was very difficult so I just tried to push him. The shuttle was slow ... and you needed power to play.”
Photo: Reuters
Chou had defeated Vittinghus in their previous six encounters dating back to March 2017, but given that the past three wins all went a full three games, it was no surprise that he had trouble.
The 29-year-old Taiwanese started strong, jumping to a 12-3 lead in the first game, but Vittinghus showed that he would not go down easily by rallying to within a point at 15-14 before Chou pulled away.
In a see-saw second game, Chou was within a point at 18-17, but Vittinghus won the final three points, setting up a decisive third game.
The two players remained closely matched until Chou ran off three straight points, taking a 19-14 lead and soon putting away the match.
“My serving was terrible and Chou was more consistent and didn’t give away as many points,” Vittinghus was quoted as saying on the BWF Web site.
Chou next faces a player who he has never played before, Croatia’s 116th-ranked Zvonimir Durkinjak.
Taiwan’s 28th-ranked Wang Tzu-wei also advanced to the second round of the men’s singles, defeating Rosario Maddaloni of Italy 21-6, 21-16.
Wang next faces eighth-seeded Kenta Nishimoto of Japan.
Taiwan also had first-round success in the mixed doubles and men’s doubles.
The mixed doubles pairing of Wang Chi-lin and Cheng Chi-ya topped Japan’s Kohei Gondo and Ayane Kurihara 21-18, 21-11, while the men’s doubles duo Lin Shang-kai and Tseng Min-hao edged past Hong Kong’s Chang Tak-ching and Yeung Ming-nok 20-22, 21-13, 21-16.
Men’s doubles duo Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge of Britain defeated Lu Ching-yao and Yang Po-han of Taiwan — the nation’s only players ousted in the first round — 21-13, 21-10.
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
Yassine Bounou on Wednesday saved two penalties, while Youssef en-Nesyri netted the decisive spot-kick as hosts Morocco secured a 4-2 shoot-out victory over Nigeria following a 0-0 draw in a tense Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in Rabat. Morocco, seeking their first continental title in 50 years, are to face 2021 winners Senegal in Sunday’s decider in Rabat, while Nigeria take on Egypt in the third-place playoff tomorrow. The 120 minutes before the shoot-out had few clear-cut chances for either side, but it was Morocco who created more opportunities, although they were denied by some fine saves from Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Nigeria
Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday sparked defending champions Oklahoma City to victory, while Anthony Edwards led Minnesota’s last-minute fightback to beat San Antonio. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points while adding eight assists and five rebounds in the Thunder’s 124-112 home victory over Miami, improving the NBA’s best record to 33-7 after outscoring the Heat 70-53 in the second half. “We locked in defensively. We were finally able to get some stops,” Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins said. “We were able to get out in transition a little bit, get going offensively and find the flow.” Jalen Williams scored 18 points, while
RSS