Badminton world No. 2 Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎) of Taiwan yesterday won the Yonex Taipei Open for a fourth time, beating World No. 35 Saena Kawakami of Japan 21-17, 21-16 at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium.
World No. 4 Chou Tien-chen (周天成) also did Taiwan proud in the men’s singles, beating World No. 38 Kodai Naraoka of Japan 14-21, 21-10, 21-6 in 1 hour, 1 minute.
Tai’s final lasted 37 minutes — her longest match during the tournament.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Despite Tai taking an early lead in both games, Kawakami managed to even the score twice during the first game and was just one point behind Tai during the second.
After the match, Tai said that Japanese players always play steadily and move fast, and she had to remind herself to keep unforced errors to a minimum.
Tai became the third female player to win four women’s singles titles at the Taipei Open, after winning it in 2012, 2016 and 2018. The others are Kirsten Larsen of Denmark and Sung Ji-hyun of South Korea.
Photo: CNA
“It’s been 10 years. It means I’ve been playing for quite a while, but I will still try” to win more titles, Tai said.
It was also her third title this season, following back-to-back wins at the Thailand Open in May and the Indonesia Open last month.
Tai, who won silver at the Tokyo Olympics, said she next plans to play at the Japan Open from Aug. 30 to Sept. 4.
Photo: CNA
Asked if she would try to defend her title at the Taipei Open next year, Tai said: “Let me finish the tournaments this year, and we will see next year.”
In the men’s doubles, Taiwanese Olympic gold medalists Lee Yang (李洋) and Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) lost 18-21, 21-11, 18-21 to Man Wei-chong (萬緯聰) and Tee Kai-wun (鄭凱文) of Malaysia.
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
US President Donald Trump on Friday said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) told him China would not invade Taiwan while Trump is in office. Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News, ahead of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “I will tell you, you know, you have a very similar thing with President Xi of China and Taiwan, but I don’t believe there’s any way it’s going to happen as long as I’m here. We’ll see,” Trump said during an interview on Fox News’ Special Report. “He told me: ‘I will never do