Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi on Wednesday inflicted a first-round defeat on former badminton world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen at the All England Open.
Lin came out of top after a back-and-forth first game before Axelsen dominated the second, but the Dane was not able to keep that form in the decider as Lin reeled off six points in a row on the way to a 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 victory.
“If I don’t play my best, everyone can win against me,” said Axelsen, the world No. 4. “Today’s opponent played a fantastic game; it was disappointing, but that is how it is.”
Photo: AP
“I just tried to survive in the match. There is always a lot of pressure when I am here at the All England and every single day, and I got tense when my body was feeling bad and it affected my entire game,” he said.
Lin was to play Kenta Nishimoto of Japan in the second round after press time last night.
In early games yesterday involving Taiwanese, Lu Ming-che and Hung En-tzu were beaten 21-13, 21-17 by China’s Jiang Zhenbang and Huang Dongping in the second round of the mixed doubles on Court 4 at the Utilita Arena Birmingham, while Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue of France defeated Taiwan’s Chen Cheng-kuan and Hsu Yin-hui 19-21, 21-17, 21-14 on Court 3.
In the men’s singles, Chou Tien-chen fell to a 21-11, 21-19 defeat to China’s Shi Yuqi on Court 2. Chou beat Christo Popov 21-10, 21-12 in the first round.
Other Taiwanese to play after press time last night were: Yang Po-hsuan and Hu Ling-fang in the mixed doubles; Liu Kuang-heng and Yang Po-han, and Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan in the men’s doubles; Wang Tzu-wei and Lee Chia-hao in the men’s singles; Hsieh Pei-shan and Hung in the women’s doubles; and Chiu Pin-chian and Hsu Wen-chi in the women’s singles.
Taiwanese were also competing at the Spanish Para Badminton International in Toledo and the Ruichang China Masters. All three are to conclude on Sunday.
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said