Taiwanese world No. 11 Wang Tzu-wei showed signs of returning to form at badminton’s HYLO Open Super 500 tournament in Germany this week before falling to promising Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen in the round-of-16 on Thursday.
Fourth seed Wang was beaten 17-21, 15-21 in 37 minutes against the tournament’s 2019 champion at Saarlandhalle in Saarbrucken, after he had started off his campaign by taking down world No. 57 Felix Burestedt of Sweden 21-17, 21-9 in straight games on Tuesday.
On Thursday, 26-year-old Wang trailed closely behind 20-year-old Sen to reach 17-19, before the Indian shuttler won the next two points to pocket the first game.
Photo courtesy of the Badminton Association of Thailand via CNA
Wang put up a spirited fight in the second game and tied the score nine times before Sen reeled off five consecutive points to claim an 18-13 advantage. Sen had match point at 20-14, with Wang saving the first, but not the second.
Wang and Sen have a 1-1 head-to-head record after Wang defeated Sen at the New Zealand Open in 2019.
Sen, known as “young Lakshya” and in 21st spot in the BWF world rankings, is one of India’s most prolific shuttlers and is being personally groomed by legendary former Indian badminton player Prakash Padukone.
Taiwanese top seed Chou Tien-chen was knocked out in the first round on Wednesday by Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew 18-21, 13-21 in 37 minutes.
Chou, the world No. 4 and Indonesian Open champion in 2019, reached the final of the men’s singles at the French Open on Sunday, but finished runner-up to Japan’s Kanta Tsuneyama.
In the men’s doubles on Thursday, Taiwanese eighth seeds Lu Ching-yao and Yang Po-han fell to a 25-23, 14-21, 21-19 defeat to Indonesian duo Pramudya Kusumawardana and Yeremia Rambitan.
In the mixed doubles, Taiwanese pairing Yang Po-hsuan and Hu Ling-fang fell to a 21-17, 15-21, 21-19 loss to Thai duo Supak Jomkoh and Supissara Paewsampran.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS