Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen, the world No. 2, was yesterday forced into a three-set decider by Thailand’s Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk at the Yonex Thailand Open.
The local, who ranks 39th worldwide, came out firing in the first game 16-21, but quickly lost momentum going down 21-10, 21-14.
Wang Tzu-wei, the world No. 12 from Taiwan, took three sets to beat France’s 37th-ranked Brice Leverdez 21-12, 14-21, 21-16.
Photo: Reuters
In the doubles, Taiwan’s Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin easily beat Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 21-13 in the first set, before clinching the match 21-18 in the second set.
Spain’s Carolina Marin sailed through the first round as she made a fast start to her season, six months before her Olympic title defense.
The former world No. 1 made short work of France’s 37th-ranked Qi Xuefei, winning the first game in just 15 minutes before sealing it 21-10, 21-12.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
“I feel really happy to be back on court after some months without tournaments. I have really missed it a lot,” Marin said. “I wanted to get back this competition feeling, that adrenaline. I came with determination to win, but also to keep my focus on my game plan.”
“Winning here is what I want. I would like to win a title here,” she said.
Thailand’s best hope, former world No. 1 Ratchanok Intanon, is through to round two after polishing off Singapore’s Yeo Jia Min in straight sets 21-15, 21-15.
Photo: EPA-EFE
In the men’s singles, third seed Anders Antonsen made a surprise early exit in the first round going down 12-21, 18-21 to Malaysia’s Liew Daren, who is ranked 41st.
“Before this tournament I didn’t know I would even play because I was on the reserves list, so to make it at the last minute and also win my first round against the third seed, it has really surprised me,” Liew said.
Meanwhile, the BWF said that it is working with Thai health authorities to ensure COVID-19 tests are comfortable after Indian player Kidambi Srikanth developed a nose bleed during a swab collection.
The world No. 14 had described tests conducted at the event as “unacceptable” in a Twitter post that was accompanied by an image of blood dripping down his face following a fourth mandatory test on Tuesday.
On Monday, Egyptian mixed doubles player Adham Hatem Elgamal tested positive for COVID-19 and withdrew from the tournament.
Indian star Saina Nehwal was among three other players who tested positive, but were allowed to play because their infections were historic, the BWF said.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying was knocked out of the Malaysia Open yesterday, losing her women’s singles semi-final against Chen Yufei of China 19-21, 21-13, 21-15. Despite two previous victories for second-seeded Tai against Chen this season — including her win in the final of the Thailand Open — fourth-seeded Chen dispatched the world No. 2 in 1 hour, 8 minutes at Kuala Lumpur’s Axiata Arena, securing a spot in the Super 750 tournament’s final. Tai won the opening game of the last-four matchup, scoring two consecutive points after the score was tied 19-19. However, she had a horrific points drought after the
Tai Tzu-ying yesterday was Taiwan’s final hope at the Petronas Malaysia Open in Kuala Lumpur, advancing to quarter-finals of the women’s singles with a decisive win over Kristin Kuuba of Estonia. The world No. 2 and second-seeded Tai crushed world No. 51 Kuuba 21-11, 21-9 in their second-round match, which lasted about 30 minutes, at the Super 750 tournament at the Axiata Arena. In the opener, Tai shot ahead 11-8 at the mid-game interval, with Kuuba starved after the break, scoring one point as the Taiwanese hit five consecutive winners to bound to 16-9. Kuuba rallied to gain two more points, but Tai
It is, to be sure, the stuff of movies: An oft-injured guy ranked outside the top 100, making his Grand Slam debut thanks to a wild card, knocks out two seeded players on his way to a fourth-round matchup at Wimbledon against none other than No. 1 Novak Djokovic, the three-time defending champion. We can guess what Hollywood might do with that script. Tim van Rijthoven, a 25-year-old Dutchman, earned the chance to see what will happen in real life across the net from Djokovic after both men won in straight sets on Friday at the All England Club. “Before the tournament
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday booked a spot in the women’s singles semi-finals at the Malaysian Open after outdueling Pusarla V. Sindhu of India in a match that went to a deciding game. World No. 2 and second seed Tai defeated world No. 7 Sindhu 13-21, 21-15, 21-13 in a quarter-final that lasted seven minutes shy of an hour at the Super 750 tournament at Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur. It was the 21st meeting between Tai and Sindhu, with the Taiwanese leading the head-to-head record 15-5 before the match. Tai also extended her winning streak against Sindhu to six matches. In the semi-final, Tai