Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday defeated Thailand’s Pornpicha Choeikeewong in the women’s singles semi-finals at the Taipei Badminton Open to book a place in today’s final, as did Su Li-yang in the men’s singles.
Tai defeated Choeikeewong 21-12, 21-16 at the Tianmu Gymnasium to reach her sixth championship match in Taipei, of which she has previously won four.
She also faced a Thai player in the quarter-finals, Supanida Katethong, and Tai said after her game yesterday that she was not familiar with their playing styles.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
Asked about her own performance, she said: “Nothing special.”
Tai faces Zhang Beiwen of the US today. They have played 10 matches against each other, with Tai winning eight. The previous time they met was at the 2019 Japan Open, when Tai won in the first round.
Although the two finalists have not squared off for a few years, they should be familiar with how each other plays, Tai said, praising her opponent’s running game and saves.
Photo: CNA
“I must retain my focus in the final,” she said.
Zhang advanced by beating Thai teenager Pitchamon Opatniputh 21-18, 21-15.
Opatniputh, who is only 16, eliminated three Taiwanese players, Chen Su-yu, Huang Yu-hsun and Sung Shuo-yun to reach her first semi-final at a Super 300 tournament.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
In the men’s singles on Court 1, Taiwan’s Su defeated Angus Ng of Hong Kong 21-11, 21-15 to book a place in the final against Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo of Indonesia.
Despite having to play three game points, Su led comfortably throughout game 1. He fell behind for the only time in the match early in game 2, trailing 2-0, but from there rattled off six consecutive points and took the match in 35 minutes.
In the mixed doubles, Taiwanese duo Chiu Hsiang-chieh and Lin Xiao-min are to play Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei of Malaysia in the final.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
In the women’s doubles, Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Amallia Cahaya Pratiwi of Indonesia are to play South Korea’s Lee Yu-lim and Shin Seung-chan, while in the men’s doubles it is Man Wei Chong and Kai Wun Tee of Malaysia against Lu Ching-yao and Yang Po-han of Taiwan.
MEDVEDEV AWAITS: The world No. 1 Spainiard said that he is ‘finding the right shots’ as he pushed his record so far this year to 16 victories and no losses Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday extended his unbeaten season and got revenge over Cameron Norrie to reach the semi-finals at Indian Wells for a fifth straight year. The world No. 1 from Spain emerged from a see-saw battle with 29th-ranked Norrie with a 6-3, 6-4 victory. In the semis tomorrow, he faces Russian Daniil Medvedev, who pushed his own ATP winning streak to eight matches with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over defending champion Jack Draper. World No. 2 Jannik Sinner powered past Learner Tien 6-1, 6-2 to line up a semi-final with fourth-ranked Alexander Zverev, a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Arthur Fils. Alcaraz, 22, became
Ollie Watkins’ second-half header on Thursday gave Aston Villa a 1-0 win over Lille OSC in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League round-of-16 tie. Just past the hour mark, Ezri Konsa sent a deep pass that Emi Buendia headed to Watkins in the home team’s box. The England forward noticed goalkeeper Berke Ozer was off his line before sending a looping header over him and into the net. Minutes later, Watkins wasted a chance to double the advantage when he failed to score in a one-on-one with the ’keeper. Nottingham Forest were stunned 1-0 by Danish club Midtjylland, with substitute Cho
Thanks to Italy beating Mexico on Wednesday, the US get another chance in the World Baseball Classic (WBC). What looked like a potentially disastrous early exit for US manager Mark DeRosa and his team turned out to be nothing more than substantial worry and significant embarrassment for about 24 hours. It remains to be seen whether the US really want to win badly enough for the reprieve to matter, as if it is just a switch they can flick, but there is little reason for their fans to be optimistic. The team’s attitude and behavior have been all over the place when
Brice Turang and Pete Crow-Armstrong’s consecutive RBI singles proved to be the difference in the US’ 5-3 win over Canada in a World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarterfinal on Friday night in Houston. The US faces the Dominican Republic, which crushed South Korea 10-0 in seven innings in its quarter-final, in a semifinal Sunday in Miami for a spot in Tuesday’s championship. The Dominican team has won all five games in this WBC by a combined margin of 51-10. It appeared the US squad was headed toward a cozy victory when it built a 5-0 lead by the sixth inning. A first-inning RBI groundout
RSS