Taiwan’s Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin crashed out in the quarter-finals at the Indonesia Masters on Friday, losing to Mohammed Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia in the men’s doubles.
Ahsan and Setiawan won 9-21, 21-15, 21-19 at the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Palace in Jakarta to eliminate the last of the Taiwanese at the tournament.
The Indonesian pair yesterday won their semi-final 21-12, 18-21, 21-17 over compatriots Fajar Alfian and Mohammed Rian Ardianto and face Marcus Gideon and Kevin Sukamuljo of Indonesia in the final after they beat Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia 21-19, 21-19.
Defending champion Anders Antonsen of Denmark on Friday advanced to the semi-finals after beating hometown star Jonatan Christie and played Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu yesterday, winning 21-9, 21-14 to reach today’s final.
In the women’s singles, former world champion Carolina Marin defeated He Bingjiao of China 21-11, 21-19 in the semis, while Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon eliminated China’s Wang Zhiyi 21-12, 23-21.
After Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner split last year’s Grand Slams, the two superstars were expected to continue their see-saw rivalry this year. That has not happened. Instead, injuries have foreclosed the possibility of a clash between the two champions in three of the four Grand Slams, with the Spaniard missing the French Open and Wimbledon due to a wrist injury and the Italian absent from New York because of a knee injury. Alcaraz and Sinner are far from alone among top players missing big tournaments this year due to injury, a trend that has been a source of growing
England forward Ollie Watkins has left Aston Villa to join Al Hilal, his new Saudi club announced on Sunday. The deal is worth a reported £50 million (US$67.7 million) and follows Villa’s signing of Senegal eseforward Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea. Al Hilal said the 30-year-old Watkins had signed a three-year deal and would be in line to play in their league match against Al Ahli today. He joins a squad including former Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema and Crysencio Summerville, who signed from West Ham United earlier in the transfer window. Watkins has scored seven goals in 24 appearances for England. Villa coach Unai Emery
British ice dance greats Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean returned to the rink where their remarkable journey began to help launch the first Synchro9 World Championships, bringing a new Olympic discipline to the city that shaped their careers. The inaugural championships take place from March 27 to April 4 at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena, the rink where Torvill and Dean teamed up as teenagers and where they performed their final show in July last year after skating together for 50 years. “For us, this is where it all started,” Dean said. “A lot of the skaters will start their Olympic journey out of
Influencers and content creators armed with smartphones and ring lights have featured prominently in the stands at this year’s US Open, as they try to grab the spotlight away from the on-court action at one of tennis’ marquee events. About 100 content creators were given credentials for the tournament, organizers said, with 20 of those dedicated to providing coverage of the food and beverage scene alone, where caviar-topped chicken nuggets and the famed “Honey Deuce” cocktail promise viral attention. Thousands more amateur social media hounds could be found throughout the plaza and in the stands — after shelling out for their own