Is Shi Yuqi – with 9 titles from last 9 finals – the favourite for badminton World Championships after China Open?
Shi Yuqi had silver at Nanjing World's in 2018, his only medal.
In what was barely distinguishable from the Chinese National Games, 4 favourites won in four categories in All China finals, with the only interest being who would prevail in the last Super 1000 before the centrepiece World's at Paris.
Though Viktor Axelsen will be itching to snap that crown at Paris, Shi Yuqi has won all three Super 1000s of this year, Malaysia, All England and now China Open until now. Moreover,the Chinese 29-year-old has won all 9 finals of Super 750 or 1000 he's contested, since January 2024.
Slow to start, the World No 3 Yuqi took time to get going against the 23-year-old ranked No 22. But he had the final wrapped in 64 minutes to win his first China Open crown.
'My results at the China Open hadn't been great but I'm extremely happy to be able to win here,' Yuqi told BWF. 'Zhen Xing played well in first few rounds. His strokeplay and skills are good, and I was prepared for that today. Two sides played different and in first I was with the drift. In the second I told myself to be patient and fight every rally,' he said.
China's chief contender in women's singles having superceded Chen Yufei, Wang Zhi Yi played out a dull domineering 21-8, 21-13 win against fourth seed Han Yu.
Though Wang Zhi Yi alongside An Se Young are the leading contenders at the World's, Chen Yufei cannot be ruled out despite her early exits in recent tournaments. Having never won a single World title, she can be expected to preserve her energies for Paris.
In doubles, the mixed section has always been a Chinese preserve, and Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping took their head to head to 11-2 against Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin, 23-21, 21-17. Most of the Jiang-Wei fight dissipated after they failed to convert the 21-20 set point ceding three straight points.
In women's doubles, a near 70 minute wringer, the unstoppable Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning prevailed 24-22, 17-21, 21-14. Even assuming Japanese and Koreans are biding their time, Liu-Tan look extremely tough to beat at Paris.
In the only interesting category at Changzhou, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shoibul Fikri, a rejigged pairing ranked just No 210 reminded the world that the Indonesians remained formidable even if they are in a shuffling flux. Trumping the best of the Malaysians in Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik 21-15, 21-14, the 8 match-old pairing won the China Open on a near canter.
Four Indonesians are a part of Top 10, and Alfian, No 5 with Muhammad Ardianto has only last week begun playing with Fikri. But literally any of the Top 12 in men's doubles could be contending for the World title at Paris in the crowd favourite category of men's doubles. Incidentally it was the only one that featured countries besides China at China Open and kept spectators enthralled.
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Time of India
11 hours ago
- Time of India
The Queens' Gambit
How Two Indian Girls Made Chess History Something amazing just happened in the world of chess! Two Indian players — Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh — faced each other in the final of the Women's World Cup. That means the two best players in this big tournament were both from India. This has never happened before, and it's a really big deal! Usually, players from China win these tournaments. Most of the top 10 women chess players in the world are Chinese. Until now, Humpy was the only Indian on that list. But now, with Divya also shining, Indian girls are starting to make a mark in the chess world. Even though men and women can both play in the same chess tournaments, there are still far fewer women at the top. In 2001, only 6 out of every 100 international players were women. By 2020, it was about 15 out of 100. But there's still a long way to go. For example, there are only 42 women grandmasters in the whole world, but 1,804 male grandmasters! In India, only 23 out of 85 grandmasters are women. Some people used to wrongly believe that women couldn't play chess as well as men. Even a champion like Garry Kasparov once said that! But everything changed when Judit Polgar, a girl from Hungary, beat him in 2002. She showed the world that girls can be just as smart and daring on the chessboard. Now, there's a debate. Some people think there shouldn't be separate tournaments for women, while others say women's events give more girls the chance to play and win prizes. In India, this is super important because training for chess costs money, and many parents may not spend that money on their daughters. Especially in smaller towns, more boys than girls get to play. But things are changing. This all-Indian final, with the winner getting $50,000, has shown that girls can succeed in chess — and even become stars! It will inspire more girls to pick up the game and dream big. India might be ready for a chess revolution led by girls — and that's something to celebrate! Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
Indian Express
17 hours ago
- Indian Express
Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh play out a second classical draw. Now what to expect in the tiebreakers of World Cup final?
If the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 wasn't already a physically exhausting and mentally draining tournament, it became all the more so on Sunday after Divya Deshmukh and Koneru Humpy took their all-Indian final clash into an extra day in Batumi, Georgia. The second classical game of their final ended in a draw, pushing the decider to a tiebreak on Monday. While the first leg was a tale of missed opportunities for Divya, the second leg saw a different approach from Humpy, who opted for a non-risky opening with White. She began with knight to f3 from the right flank, choosing a well-known English opening, sticking to her strength, which is positional chess, in the hope of grinding Divya down later in the game. The players quickly exchanged all minor pieces, except for Humpy's dark-squared bishop, which she retained in exchange for Divya's knight, with queens still on the board for counterplay. GM Pravin Thipsay analysed Humpy's opening choice: 'It was expected that Humpy would try to press for an advantage, and that's what happened. She began with the English opening but eventually transposed into the regular Queen's Gambit Declined, the Semitarash variation,' Thipsay told The Indian Express. Explaining Humpy's middle-game strategy, Thipsay added: 'I expected her to play for a better pawn structure, as she excels at exploiting weaknesses. But on move 9, she had a choice between a bishop-over-knight advantage or a superior pawn structure and she opted for the former. In my opinion, a pawn structure advantage would have suited her better.' By the 22nd move, the players entered an endgame with equal pawns, though Humpy sought an edge with her active bishop, placing it on long diagonals. She even sacrificed a central pawn to keep the position sharp and pressure Divya into an error. 'Divya exchanged one of Humpy's knights for a bishop on move 9, and on the 12th move, she gave up her second bishop for a knight, leading to a complex but roughly equal position in a symmetrical pawn structure,' said Thipsay. 'Double bishops are generally better than double knights, but this was a semi-open position with central pawns. I've played this structure many times, and the advantage isn't significant. Divya correctly exchanged rooks, and by the 20th move, a draw seemed inevitable.' 'But Humpy took bold decisions,' he added. 'She sacrificed a pawn on move 23, putting Divya in a tricky spot. Divya missed the best 24th move, which would have forced a draw. After that, Humpy had chances, especially on move 28, where she could have regained the pawn with some advantage.' However, Humpy allowed Divya's position to improve before regaining her pawn, by which point she also forced Divya to end the game by perpetual checks. 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The Hindu
18 hours ago
- The Hindu
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