Taiwanese shuttlers Lai Po-yu (賴柏佑) and Tsai Fu-cheng (蔡富丞) on Sunday clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex US Open, defeating compatriots He Zhi-wei (何志偉) and Huang Jui-hsuan (黃睿璿) in a three-game thriller, 21-13, 21-23, 21-15.
He and Huang, ranked 63rd in the world, took an early 6-3 lead in the first game against world No. 86 Lai and Tsai.
However, Lai and Tsai quickly shifted momentum, reeling off eight straight points to surge ahead 11-6.
Photo: CNA
Although He and Huang fought back to close the gap to 14-11, Lai and Tsai responded with another five-point run to take the opening game convincingly.
In the second game, He and Huang gave it their all to build an 18-13 lead. Although Lai and Tsai fought back to tie the score late in the game, He and Huang managed to edge a 23-21 victory to even the match.
However, He and Huang were unable to maintain their momentum in the decisive third game.
Lai and Tsai quickly pulled ahead, opening a seven-point lead at 17-10 before closing out the match.
Besides Lai and Tsai’s gold and He and Huang’s silver, the bronze medal was shared by four Taiwanese shuttlers who were defeated by the top two teams in the semi-finals.
Chiang Chien-wei (江建葦) and Wu Hsuan-yi (吳軒毅), along with Chen Cheng-kuan (陳政寬) and Lin Bing-wei (林秉緯), all secured third place.
In addition to that milestone, Lai and Tsai’s victory marked Taiwan’s first gold at a US Super 300 event in 15 years — the last being Fang Chieh-min (方介民) and Lee Sheng-mu (李勝木) in 2010.
Their win was no surprise, thanks to a long-standing partnership that began in junior high school, fostering strong camaraderie.
In the women’s doubles, Taiwanese shuttlers Chang Ching-hui (張淨惠) and Yang Ching-tun (楊景惇), as well as Hsu Yin-hui (許尹鏸) and Lin Jhih-yun (林芝昀), collectively settled for third place, while Hsu Ya-ching (許雅晴) and Sung Yu-hsuan (宋祐媗) took second behind Thai sisters Benyapa Aimsaard and Nuntakarn Aimsaard.
Hsu Yin-hui and her mixed doubles partner Chen Cheng-kuan, both of Taiwan, also tied for third alongside US shuttlers Presley Smith and Jennie Gai.
In the men’s singles, Chou Tien- chen (周天成) and fellow Taiwanese Liao Jhuo-fu (廖倬甫) both secured third place.
The Yonex US Open, held at Iowa’s Mid-America Center, had a total prize purse of US$240,000.
NETWORK-MAPPING PROJECT: The database contains 170 detailed files of Taiwanese politicians and about 23 million records of household registration data in Taiwan China has developed a network-mapping project targeting political figures and parties in Taiwan to monitor public opinion during elections and to craft tailored influence campaigns aimed at dividing Taiwanese society, according to documents leaked by Chinese technology firm GoLaxy (中科天璣). The documents, collected by Taipei-based Doublethink Lab, showed a database was specifically created to gather detailed information on Taiwanese political figures, including their political affiliations, job histories, birthplaces, residences, education, religion and a brief biography about them. Several notable Taiwanese politicians are in the database, including President William Lai (賴清德), former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍),
RECOGNITION: Former Fijian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry said that Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy serves as a stabilizing force in the Indo-Pacific region Taiwan can lead the unification of the Chinese people, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Polish president Lech Walesa said in Taipei yesterday, adding that as the world order is changing, peaceful discussion would find good solutions, and that the use of force and coercion would always fail. Walesa made the remarks during his keynote address at a luncheon of the Yushan Forum in Taipei, titled “Indo-Pacific Partnership Prospects: Taiwan’s Values, Technology and Resilience,” organized by the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Walesa said that he had been at the forefront of a big peaceful revolution and “if
North Korea tested nuclear-capable rocket launchers, state media reported yesterday, a day after Seoul detected the launch of about 10 ballistic missiles. The test comes after South Korean and US forces launched their springtime military drills, due to run until Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday oversaw the testing of the multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The test involved 12 600mm-caliber ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies, it said. Kim said the drill gave Pyongyang’s enemies, within the 420km striking range, a sense of “uneasiness” and “a deep understanding
UPGRADED MISSILE: The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is reportedly to conduct a live-fire test of the Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile on Thursday next week The US Army is planning to build new facilities to boost explosives production and strengthen its supply chain, a move aimed at addressing munitions shortages and supporting obligations to partners including Taiwan, Ukraine and Israel, Defense News reported. The army has issued a sources sought notice for a proposed Center of Excellence at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, the report said. The facility would serve as a hub within the US industrial base for the production of key military explosives, including research department explosives (RDX) and high melting explosives (HMX), while also supporting research and development of next-generation materials. The proposed
RSS