Malaysian world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei faces a tough first test at this week’s Japan Open as he bids to recapture the title he won in 2007.
The top seed, runner-up last year, must beat in-form Boonsak Ponsana in the first round. The 11th-ranked Thai reached the final at the China Masters at the weekend, losing to home favorite Lin Dan.
Lee admitted he has been struggling with an unspecified knee problem he suffered before the China Masters.
“I still felt pains when I practised today but I prepared for the China Masters and Japan Open pretty well. I’m ready to do my best,” Lee said.
The winner of that match will take on either Hsieh Yu-hsing of Taiwan or Indonesia’s Simon Santoso before a probable third-round clash against defending champion Soni Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia.
GOLD MEDALIST
A strong-looking top half of the draw also includes Athens Olympic gold medalist Taufik Hidayat, also of Indonesia, and last year’s Asian champion Park Sung-hwan of South Korea.
“I took part in this tournament many times but I’ve never won, although I finished runner-up before. It’s the jinx I want to bury. So this is the tournament I really want to win,” Hidayat said.
The withdrawal of world No. 2 Chen Jin of China leaves the bottom half of the draw wide open and boosts the chances of third seed Peter Gade of Denmark, who won the title in 1998 and 1999.
His main rivals are Tien Minh Nguyen of Vietnam, fellow Dane Joachim Persson and local hope Sho Sasaki.
“The Japan Open has always been one of my favorite tournaments. I don’t know how many Japan Opens I have left because of my age so I’d like to give my utmost best,” the 32-year-old Gade said.
“I know it’s going to be difficult, there are a lot of good players like Chong Wei and Taufik. But I know if I play my best I still have a chance to win,” he said.
WINNER
In the women’s competition, last year’s Super Series Masters Finals winner and top seed Zhou Mi of Hong Kong faces Adriyanti Firdasari of Indonesia in the first round.
China’s Wang Yihan, the in-form fourth seed who captured her first major title at the Japan Open last year and has won a clutch of titles this season, will be a threat to Zhou.
World No. 2 Wang Lin is expected to face tough early tests against Asian champion Zhu Lin in the second round, and then possibly France’s Chinese-born Pi Hongyan.
The 2007 champion Tine Rasmussen of Denmark and India’s Saina Nehwal are also tipped to do well.
Matches in the main draw start today and the tournament runs until Sunday.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Badminton world No. 3 Anders Antonsen clinched his first Indonesia Open title yesterday after beating Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen, while South Korea’s An Se-young won her second championship in Jakarta. The 28-year-old Dane sank world No. 7 Chou at the Indonesian capital’s Istora Senayan arena, winning 22-20, 21-14 in a 60-minute match to secure the prestigious Super 1000 event. Antonsen came out on top in a tightly contested first game before cruising to victory in the second. In a more closely fought women’s singles final, South Korean ace and world No. 1 An fought back from one game down to beat China’s
‘STILL’: In front of a packed New Jersey arena attended by Donald Trump and Mike Tyson, UFC 316 delivered high drama as Merab Dvalishvili retained his title Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili scored a second-round submission win over Sean O’Malley to retain his bantamweight title at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 316 on Saturday, with Kayla Harrison also winning by submission in the co-main event, tapping out Juliana Pena to claim the women’s bantamweight crown. In front of a packed crowd at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, which included US President Donald Trump and retired heavyweight great Mike Tyson, Dvalishvili, a 34-year-old from the country of Georgia, won the belt in a convincing, although not aesthetically pleasing, unanimous decision. Dvalishvili (19-4) sat on top of the cage and shouted
Manchester City on Monday completed the signing of left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported ￡31 million (US$41.8 million). The 24-year-old Algeria international has signed a five-year contract and will be available for the FIFA Club World Cup, which begins later this week. Ait-Nouri is expected to be just one of a trio of new City faces for that tournament with deals close to completion for AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Olympique Lyonnais playmaker Rayan Cherki. After missing out on a major trophy in the recently completed season for the first time since 2016-2017, City are hoping
Hulking Italian sprinter Jonathan Milan on Monday surged away from the pack to win the second stage of the Criterium de Dauphine in Issoire, France, to take the overall lead from Tadej Pogacar. The 1.93m, 87kg Milan had to battle to keep up on a hilly 204.6km run through central France from Premilhat. When the pack hit the home straight, he rocketed away from his rivals to collect a 10-second victory bonus and the yellow jersey. “That was really tough,” Milan said. “I was dropped at one point, and I was really on the limit, but I have to say
RSS