Mei Xing-Pei Kee brace for sweaty battle with Chinese pair

Badminton News

PETALING JAYA: Women’s doubles shuttlers Teoh Mei Xing-Go Pei Kee (pic) are bracing for a tough test against China’s Paris Olympics gold medallist Chen Qingchen and her new partner Wang Tingge in the German Open second round.

Qingchen has hardly played since capturing the title in Paris with former partner Jia Yifan but still poses a threat with the 20-year-old Tingge.

The pair played once together in the Asia Mixed Team Championships in Qingdao earlier this month and lost narrowly to Japan’s Arisa Igarashi-Ayako Sakuramoto.

Yesterday, world No. 47 Mei Xing-Pei Kee, who are Malaysia’s sole representatives in the women’s doubles, warmed up for the match against the Chinese duo by sweeping aside homesters Selin Hubsh-Amelie Lehmann 21-12, 21-14 in Mulheim.

Meanwhile, Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi were the only Malaysians left standing in the second round of the men’s doubles event.

World No. 19 Roy King-Arif survived a scare before beating Denmark’s William Kryger-Christian Faust 21-23, 21-13, 21-12. The pair are hoping to win their first World Tour title together and will next face Taiwan’s Chang Ko-chi-Po Li-wei for a place in the quarter-finals.

It was the end of the road though for Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub, Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong and Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing.

Wee Kiong-Azriyn went down 21-19, 13-21, 19-21 to Taiwan’s Lu Ming-che-Tang Kai Wei, while Hang Yee-Eng Cheong were beaten 14-21, 14-21 by Scotland’s Christopher Grimley-Matthew Grimley.

World junior champions Aaron-Kai Xing lost 19-21, 18-21 to Americans Chen Zhi Yi-Presley Smith 19-21, 18-21.

Meanwhile, in the mixed doubles, independent pair Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien fought hard to overcome Singapore’s Terry Hee-Jin Yu Jia 15-21, 24-22, 21-19 to reach the second round. Tien Ci-Chiew Sien will likely play Americans Presly Smith-Jennie Gai next.

RESULTS

(Malaysians only)

First round

Men’s doubles: Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi bt William Kryger-Christian Faust (Den) 21-23, 21-13, 21-12; Lu Ming-che-Tang Kai Wei (Tpe) bt Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub 19-21, 21-13, 21-19; Christopher Grimley-Matthew Grimley (Sco) bt Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong 21-14, 21-14; Chen Zhi Yi-Presley Smith (US) bt Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing 21-19, 21-18.

Women’s doubles: Teoh Mei Xing-Go Pei Kee bt Selin Hubsh-Amelie Lehmann (Ger) 21-12, 21-14.

Mixed doubles: Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien bt Terry Hee-Jin Yu Jia (Sin) 15-21, 24-22, 21-19.

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Pearly-Thinaah aim to finish strongly in Indonesia to make up for home setback

Badminton News

PETALING JAYA: Women’s doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah are out to emulate seniors Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei by capturing the Indonesian Masters title today.

The 2011 champions Vivian-Khe Wei were the only Malaysians so far to win the title since the tournament’s inception in 2010.

Pearly-Thinaah, who took over from the pair as the country’s No. 1, are keen to win the crown after beating South Korea’s Lee Yu-lim-Lee Yeon-woo 21-19, 21-16 in the semi-finals at Istora Senayan in Jakarta yesterday.

The world No. 7 duo had to survive some tense moments especially in the first game but used all their experience to come away with the win in 52 minutes.

Standing in their way to the title today are another Korean pair Kim Hye-jeong-Kong Hee-yong.

Hye-jeong-Hee-yong denied Pearly-Thinaah a spot in the Indian Open final last week and will be a tough hurdle again.

The Koreans finished runners-up to Japan’s Arisa Igarashi-Ayako Sakuramoto in New Delhi and are determined to win their first title this year.

Hye-jeong-Hee-yong pulled off an impressive 21-17, 22-20 victory over China’s Paris Olympics champion Jia Yifan and her new partner Zhang Zhuxian in the other last four match.

Pearly-Thinaah are wary of the threat posed by the Koreans but are hoping to avenge their defeat in India.

“We definitely want to win the title but we don’t want to put any pressure on ourselves. We just want to enjoy the match,” said Thinaah.

“We need to prepare both of defense and attack well because the Koreans are not easy to play against. We hope to communicate well and keep this positivity and momentum going.

Thinaah was also happy after getting her mojo with Pearly back since their disappointing first round exit in the Malaysian Open.

“This is an important win for us as we have always been trying to get back our best game and momentum,” said Thinaah.

“We have been through lots of ups and downs.

“So, this win boosts our confidence.”

Pearly-Thinaah have reached their first final since finishing runners-up to China’s world No. 2 Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning in the Arctic Open last October.

The pair’s last title was in the Hong Kong Open last October where they sensationally upstaged Shengshu-Tan Ning.

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Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty Lose In Semifinals As India Open Campaign Ends

Badminton News

Indian doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s campaign at the India Open Super 750 ended in the semifinals after they suffered a straight-game loss to Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin in New Delhi on Saturday. Satwik and Chirag, the 2022 champions, were outplayed 18-21, 14-21 in just 37 minutes by the world number 3 Malaysian duo, who produced a class act to derail the Indian pair’s game plan. “I think we should have closed down in the first game but credit to them they were really good in the service situations, which we didn’t really expect because probably we didn’t prepare for it. Having said that, we should have been little more calmer,” Chirag said after the loss.

“We didn’t really expect so many flicks going into the game, especially from 15-12 and then we were receiving quite well but I think we should have been a bit more calmer.” Satwik, who fell on the court and seemed to have twisted his ankle, said he’ll have to take a look at it.

“Yeah, I think I have to check now. I think I twisted quite badly,” Satwik said.

This marks a second consecutive semifinal finish for Satwik and Chirag this season, following their last eight finish at the Malaysia Open Super 1000 in Kuala Lumpur last week.

The Indian duo had signed off with a semifinal finish at the China Masters as well, their comeback event following the quarterfinal exit at the Paris Olympics.

The Indian pair started well, mixing attack and defense to lead 6-9, but the Malaysians seized control by claiming five of the next six points to take a one-point lead at the break.

After the resumption, Satwik and Chirag briefly regained the advantage, reaching 15-12. However, Goh and Izzuddin began pressing the home favourites at the net and errors started to creep in.

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The Malaysians thus made a strong comeback with a seven-point streak, which saw them clinch the first game after a smash error from Satwik.

In the second game, Goh read the game well from the front court as the visitors took a 5-0 lead. A lovely return to a flick serve gave the Indians their first point. A jump smash from Satwik narrowed the deficit to 4-8.

Then, a good serve and net duel brought the Indians to 7-8. Chirag kept serving well, but it was the Malaysians who again entered the interval with an 11-10 lead.

The tall Indians levelled the score at 13-13, but the Malaysians pulled ahead with a three-point cushion at 17-14 when Chirag was warned for delaying. Soon, the score was 20-14, following six straight points. The Malaysians sealed the match with a perfect ballooning serve to the backline.

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Goh and Nur, the third seeds, are set to face Malaysia Open champions Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae from Korea, who triumphed over fifth seeds Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia with scores of 22-20, 21-19, in the final.

On Sunday, Olympic champion An Se Young of South Korea will compete against Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong in the women’s singles final, while the French duo of Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue will aim for their first Super 750 title against China’s second seeds Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin.

In the women’s doubles final, eighth seeds Kim Hye Jeong and Kong Hee Yong of South Korea will face Japan’s Arisa Igarashi and Ayako Sakuramoto.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Defeated Pearly-Thinaah must find a way to get the better of new combos

Badminton News

KUALA LUMPUR: Women’s doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah need to find a solution soon to overcome newly formed combinations.

World No. 6 Pearly-Thinaah were beaten 21-19, 14-21, 13-21 by Indonesia’s Siti Fadia Ramadhanti-Lanny Tria in the first round of the Malaysian Open at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil yesterday.

Fadia, who previously won the title with Apriyani Rahayu, partnered Lanny last October.

Pearly-Thinaah defeated Fadia-Apriyani in the Paris Olympics last August but found it harder to handle the new pairing.

After the Olympics, there have been many reshuffle in partnerships and the Malaysians also struggled against Japan’s new pair Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto in the first round of the Japan Masters and lost 9-21, 21-14, 23-21.

Pearly-Thinaah also needed three games to overcome another Japanese duo Arisa Igarashi-Ayako Sakuramoto.

Pearly-Thinaah admitted that they found Fadia-Lanny’s unpredictability tough to handle.

“We were following our opponents’ game play in the third game and this is what caused us to lose at the end,” said Thinaah.

“We know each players individually as they have partnered others before.

“But when they came together, their unpredictable attacking shots disrupted our game play.

“We need to go back and discuss with our coach on how to overcome this.”

The defeat meant that Pearly-Thinaah’s disappointing record in the home Open continues.

The pair have never gone past the early rounds since making their debut in the 2022 edition.

Pearly-Thinaah need a remedy soon against new pairs or will find it tough to reach the latter rounds in tournaments.

It was also the end of the road for Go Pei Kee-Teoh Mei Xing after they went down 17-21, 10-21 to China’s Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian.

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s wait for a breakthrough at the Malaysian Open ended as mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei became the first representatives to advance to the second round yesterday.

In their first-round match yesterday, Tang Jie-Ee Wei showcased their class as the tournament’s third seeds when they blew awat Taiwan’s Wu Hsuan-yi-Yang Chu-yun 21-8, 21-9 in just 27 minutes.

Awaiting them in the second round is another Taiwanese pair, Ming Che-lu-Hung En-tzu, who earlier caused an upset by eliminating Malaysia’s Hoo Pang Ron and Cheng Su Yin.

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Aaron-Wooi Yik storm into last eight and closer to Finals

Badminton News

PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (pic) kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the World Tour Finals from Dec 11-15 in Hangzhou by reaching the quarter-finals of the China Masters.

Ninth placed Aaron-Wooi Yik need to break into the top eight in the Race to Hangzhou rankings and stayed cool to beat fellow Malaysians Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub 21-13, 21-19 at the Shenzhen Gymnasium yesterday to remain in contention.

Standing in their way next are world No. 6 home pair He jiting-Ren Xiangyu, who defeated young Malaysian duo Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi 21-10, 21-19.

Aaron-Wooi Yik have an opportunity to overtake seventh placed teammates Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun in the Race to Hangzhou rankings after the latter suffered a 21-19, 19-21, 17-21 defeat at the hands of Denmark’s Daniel Lundgaard-Mads Vestergaard in the first round.

Wei Chong-Kai Wun were disappointed with their performance.

“We are upset because we fought hard this whole year and this tournament was our last chance to qualify for the Finals,” lamented Wei Chong.

“We didn’t play well in this match. We are still not consistent and have a lot to improve.”

Wei Chong-Kai Wun’s loss could be Aaron-Wooi Yik’s gain but the latter need to raise their game to beat the dangerous Jiting-Xiangyu.

Based on the head-to-head records, both pairs are evenly matched after beating each other once in their past two meetings.

Meanwhile, Aaron-Wooi Yik will also be hoping for a favour from another Malaysian duo, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani when the latter take on Indonesia’s Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza in the last eight today.

Sabar-Moh Reza, who are just ahead of Aaron-Wooi Yik in eighth spot in the race to make the cut for the Finals stunned world No. 1 homesters Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang 21-10, 21-16.

Sze Fei-Izzuddin, who have already assured themselves a spot in the Finals, defeated Taiwan’s Wang Chi-lin-Chiu Hsiang-chieh 21-18, 21-16 to set up a meeting against the Indonesians.

Aaron-Wooi Yik now need to beat Jiting-Xiangyu and also hope that Sze Fei-Izzuddin end Sabar-Moh Reza’s run to boost their chance of qualifying for the Finals.

Meanwhile, women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah also made it into the quarter-finals with a hard-fought 21-18, 18-21, 21-13 win over Japan’s Arisa Igarashi-Ayako Sakuramoto.

Pearly-Thinaah though have a tough task next against world No. 1 and home favourites Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning.

Results

Malaysians only

Second round

Men’s doubles: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik bt Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Azriyn Ayub 21-13, 21-19; Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani bt Wang Chi-lin-Chiu Hsiang-chieh (Tpe) 21-18, 21-16; He Jiting-Ren Xiangyu (Chn) bt Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi 21-10, 21-19.

Women’s doubles: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah bt Arisa Igarashi-Ayako Sakuramoto (Jpn) 21-18, 18-21, 21-13.

Mixed doubles: Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin bt Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin (Chn) 16-21, 21-14, 21-19; Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei bt Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue (Fra) 14-21, 23-21, 21-8; Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet (Hkg) bt Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien 17-21, 21-15, 21-9.

First round

Men’s doubles: Daniel Lundgaard-Mads Vestergaard (Den) bt Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun 19-21, 21-19, 21-17.

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Three Malaysian doubles pairs in China Masters quarters

Badminton News

PETALING JAYA: It was triple joy for Malaysia in the doubles when Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik; Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani and Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah made it into the China Masters quarter-finals.

Aaron-Wooi Yik defeated fellow Malaysians Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub 21-13, 21-19 to set-up a meeting against homesters He Jiting-Ren Xiangyu at the Shenzhen Gymnasium on Thursday (Nov 21).

Sze Fei-Izzuddin were also on top form when they overcame Taiwan’s Wang Chi-lin-Chiu Hsiang-chieh 21-18, 21-16.

The independent pair will next face Indonesia’s Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza for a place in the last four.

Women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah are also through to the last eight after beating Japan’s Arisa Igarashi-Ayako Sakuramoto 21-18, 18-21, 21-13.

Pearly-Thinaah have a tough task next against world No. 1 and home favourites Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning.

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Some errors here and there, but no terror for Pearly-Thinaah as they advance

Badminton News

PETALING JAYA: Women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah are in good spirits after advancing to the second round of the China Masters.

After taking an early exit at the Japan Masters last week, the world No. 6 duo are glad to come out the gates stronger in Shenzhen as they got past China’s new pairing of Ding Keyun-Wang Yiduo 21-16, 21-14 yesterday.

As much as they are glad to be back competing, the fifth seed Malaysians noted areas in their game that need improvement.

“We are happy to be back on court but aren’t too satisfied with the first round match. At the start we made mistakes that shouldn’t have happened, but towards the end, we reminded each other to stay calm and enjoy every shot we play. That really helped us,” said Thinaah.

Pearly echoed her teammate’s comments, saying, “We did make a lot of mistakes, so all we can hope for is to be better for the next match.”

In Japan last week, Pearly-Thinaah fell to newly formed Japanese pair Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto in the first round but the Malaysians used their remaining time in Japan to train before arriving in Shenzhen.

“We lost on Tuesday last week, so after that we remained in Japan to train and prepare for this tournament in China.

“It is good to be back in China and we are looking forward to the crowds here because we have a lot of supporters here,” said Thinaah.

Pearly-Thinaah could face Taiwan’s Hsu Yin-hui-Lin Jhih-yun or Japan’s Arisa Igarashi-Ayako Sakuramoto in the second round today.

Meanwhile, mixed doubles duo Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien took down Algeria’s Koceila Mammeri-Taina Mammeri 21-15, 21-13 to set up a second round meeting with third seed Hong Kong pair Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet.

Also advancing was mixed doubles pair Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin, who made it through after winning 21-17, 21-12 against Taiwan’s Liu Kuang-heng-Jheng Yu-chieh and will meet second seed Chinese pair Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin next.

Zhenbang-Yaxin had earned their way into the second round after winning 21-18, 21-11 against world No. 18 Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing.

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Badminton: Pearly-Thinaah start strong at China Masters

Badminton News

PETALING JAYA: Women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah started off strong at the China Masters as they advanced to the second round on Wednesday (Nov 20).

The world No. 6 duo took down China’s new women’s doubles pair Ding Keyun-Wang Yiduo 21-16, 21-14 in the opening round at the Shenzhen Gymnasium.

Pearly-Thinaah could face Taiwan’s Hsu Yin-hui-Lin Jhih-yun or Japan’s Arisa Igarashi-Ayako Sakuramoto in the second round.

The fifth-seeded Malaysians are hoping to bounce back after their disappointing first-round exit at the Japan Masters last week.

In the men’s singles category, Leong Jun Hao could not maintain his stellar form at the Japan Masters last week as he fell to Japan’s Takuma Obayashi 12-21, 11-21 in the first round.

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The last hurrah

Badminton News

PETALING JAYA: It will be an emotional outing for Jeremy Gan and his charges Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino in the ongoing Japan Open in Yokohama.

It will be the top mixed pair’s last tournament before they go separate way s with different partners.

Since former Malaysian international Jeremy took charge as coach of the mixed pair in 2018, the 27-year-old Watanabe and Higashino, 28, have done well to win many titles.

In fact, the duo had ruled as Japan’s top pair for the last seven years.

Jeremy is proud of their achievements but believed it was time for them to move on.

Watanabe is expected to carry on playing in the mixed doubles with a new and younger partner Maya Taguchi, 18, while Higashino will play in the women’s doubles with Ayako Sakuramoto.

“It has been seven wonderful years of coaching them. I’m happy to see all their achievements since 2018,” said Jeremy.

Former Malaysian international Jeremy Gan took charge as coach of the duo in 2018, and they’ve done well to win many titles.

“The unforgettable achievements are winning the first two All-England titles (2018, 2019) and silver twice at the World Championships (2021 and 2022). This year’s Paris Olympics will always be special as they won their second bronze medal on this big stage, but this time, they went through so many tough challenges to win it.

“They will still play on with different partners but we will surely cherish all they have done for Japan all these years. Hopefully, they will end with a strong showing in this home tournament, which is the last as a pair.’’

Are there anyone ready to take over their spots and keep the tradition going?

There are two pairs, said Jeremy, as he would be focusing on world No. 19 Hiroki Midorikawa-Natsu Saito and world No. 31 Hiroki Nishi-Akari Sato to continue the legacy of Watanabe-Higashino.

On Jeremy’s status in Japan, he said: “I have a contract that runs until March next year… I’m still thinking about my future plan.

Whether he stays on or moves to a newer challenge, Jeremy is set to be an asset as a coach as he has a knack of producing world-class players.

Meanwhile yesterday, top seeds Watanabe-Higashino showed their class when they defeated Presley Smith-Allison Lee of the United States 21-7, 21-3 to advance to the second round.

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