Taiwanese badminton player Lin Chun-yi yesterday won the men’s singles final of the India Open, surging past world No. 4 Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in straight games to win his first title since 2024.
Following two disappointing runners-up finishes last year at the Orleans Masters and the China Masters, and a hard first-round loss to compatriot and world No. 5 Chou Tien-chen in the Malaysia Open earlier this month, Lin held on at the BWF Super 750 tournament in New Delhi to grab an early win for the year.
The 26-year-old world No. 12 Taiwanese defeated Christie 21-10, 21-18 in a speedy 38 minutes at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Arena in New Delhi, recording his second consecutive victory over the Indonesian. Lin most recently beat Christie at the China Masters in Shenzhen in September last year.
Photo: Reuters
Lin on Saturday beat Canada’s Victor Lai 21-9, before dropping the second 6-21, to emerge victorious from a tight back-and-forth third game 22-20.
After Saturday’s match, Lin said he and Lai trained together in Taiwan last year, adding that the Canadian was difficult to beat in practice.
Lin sustained a muscle strain earlier this month at the Malaysia Open that had made walking difficult, but insisted on playing in India, only the second time he has contended for a Super 750 title.
Lai said that Lin’s attacking power was difficult to defend against, even though he anticipated it.
The Canadian said nerves and fatigue affected his performance after a lengthy match the previous day.
At last year’s China Master’s, Lin missed out on his first Super 750 title with a 21-11, 21-15 loss to China’s Weng Hongyang in the final.
Lin won two Super 300 titles in 2024, the Taipei Open and the Swiss Open, as well as the Thailand Masters in 2023 and the US Open in 2019.
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
Yassine Bounou on Wednesday saved two penalties, while Youssef en-Nesyri netted the decisive spot-kick as hosts Morocco secured a 4-2 shoot-out victory over Nigeria following a 0-0 draw in a tense Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in Rabat. Morocco, seeking their first continental title in 50 years, are to face 2021 winners Senegal in Sunday’s decider in Rabat, while Nigeria take on Egypt in the third-place playoff tomorrow. The 120 minutes before the shoot-out had few clear-cut chances for either side, but it was Morocco who created more opportunities, although they were denied by some fine saves from Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Nigeria
Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday sparked defending champions Oklahoma City to victory, while Anthony Edwards led Minnesota’s last-minute fightback to beat San Antonio. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points while adding eight assists and five rebounds in the Thunder’s 124-112 home victory over Miami, improving the NBA’s best record to 33-7 after outscoring the Heat 70-53 in the second half. “We locked in defensively. We were finally able to get some stops,” Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins said. “We were able to get out in transition a little bit, get going offensively and find the flow.” Jalen Williams scored 18 points, while
RSS