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Indian Express
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Macau Open Super 300: Lakshya Sen makes solid start; Rakshitha Ramraj stages impressive comeback in three-game battle
In his assessment of Lakshya Sen's second-round exit at the China Open last week, coach Vimal Kumar was hyper critical. The veteran mentor wanted Lakshya to stop making the same mistakes over and over – the odd flick serve that costs dear, making tactical mistakes at critical junctures, and overthinking to name a few. The World Championships are not far away, and Lakshya's been making early exits from tournaments too frequently to get the right match fitness. 'He needs match practice. In badminton, you can't say too many matches if you are losing early. They hardly play 40-50 a year. Tennis players have it more gruelling. Yes, the badminton circuit is tough, but you can crib if you reach quarterfinals consistently. Not if you lose early. You have to convert such matches,' was coach Vimal's advice. At the Macau Open – a Super 300 event – this week, Lakshya is the second seed, despite being world No 17. But more than the field he is a part of, the India No 1 just needs to put together a string of good performances. From that perspective, his 21-8, 21-14 win against Korea's Jeon Hyeok Jin in the round of 32 on Wednesday was a solid start. The Korean can be a tricky customer with his solid defensive style, as he has shown in team events in the past. Lakshya dominated the opening game but was pushed to the limits in the second as Jin controlled the shuttle better, but the Indian still managed to come through in 38 minutes. He next faces Indonesia's Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo. Joining Lakshya in the second round of men's singles are Ayush Shetty, who has made the Super 300 stage a happy hunting ground this season, including the title win at US Open, and Tharun Mannepalli. The latter defeated a fellow Indian shuttler in Manraj Singh 21-19, 21-13 while Ayush overcame Chinese Taipei's Huang Yu Kai 21-10, 21-11. It was, however, another early exit for HS Prannoy who ran out of steam against Indonesia's Yohanes Saut Marcellyno after taking the opening game, going down 21-18, 15-21, 15-21. Sathish Kumar Karunakaran went down to Malaysia's Justin Hoh 19-21, 12-21 in 37 minutes, and Hoh now faces Ayush. For Tharun, the second-round test comes in the form of top seed Lee Cheuk Yiu. On a day when six Indians were in action in women's singles, the solitary winner was Rakshitha Sree Santhosh Ramraj as she outlasted Thailand's Pornpicha Choeikeewong 18-21, 21-17, 22-20. Up against the world No 35 – five places above her – the 18-year-old Indian faced a significant deficit in the decider, down 2-10 at one point. But she hung in there, cut down her errors, and kept clawing her way back. As she saw a down-the-line smash brush Choeikeewong's racquet and not come back, her shoulders relaxed in relief as she prevailed in 63 minutes. The rest of the matches were defeats that one could see coming: Aakarshi Kashyap went down against former World Champion Nozomi Okuhara, Tasnim Mir was no match for top seed Chen Yufei, while Anmol Kharb would rue the missed game-point opportunities against second Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the opener but was eventually outclassed in straight games. Even Anupama Upadhyaya had a tricky test against former junior World Champion Riko Gunji. But the frustrating result of the day was Unnati Hooda — who had stunned two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu at the China Open last week — losing to a player now ranked below her, going down 21-16, 19-21, 17-21 against Denmark's Julie Dawall Jakobsen in 59 minutes. Rakshitha will next face Ongbamrungphan. In mixed doubles, fifth seeds Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, ranked 18th in the world, defeated Thailand's Ratchapol Makkasasithorn and Nattamon Laisuan 21-10 21-15 in a 26-minute clash. In an all-Indian men's doubles clash, P Krishnamurthy Roy and S Pratheek K prevailed 21-18 21-19 over D Konthoujam and Amaan Mohammad to enter the second round. Earlier on Tuesday, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, second seeds, made it to the second round of men's doubles while top seeds in women's doubles – Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand – suffered early exits.
New York Times
20 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Coco Gauff overcomes serve struggles to beat Danielle Collins at Canadian Open
It's not often that the world No. 2 goes two months without winning a match, but that's the reality Coco Gauff was facing late Tuesday night in Montreal, on the cusp of a third consecutive loss, this time in her opening duel at the Canadian Open. Gauff somehow won the battle of fiercely competitive Floridians, beating Danielle Collins 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(2). For Gauff, this win was a maddening relief on a night when she served 23 double faults, nearly a full set given away in just under three hours. It's the most served in a match on the WTA Tour since 2019, when Jelena Ostapenko hit 25 against Karolína Plíšková in a win at the China Open in Beijing. Gauff last won a match in the final of the French Open, where she showed off all of her strongest traits — her stamina, her steel, her wheels and her ability to stay in control and keep putting balls back into the court — to upset Aryna Sabalenka. Gauff was on top of the world. Instead of staying in Europe, as she often does after Roland Garros, she jetted home for a whirlwind few days of media appearances, then headed back to Europe for the grass-court season. She has not been the same since. She lost to Wang Xinyu in Berlin in straight sets. Then she lost to Dayana Yastremska in the first round of Wimbledon in straight sets as well. That was July 1. She spent the rest of the month resting and preparing for the North American hard-court swing that will culminate with the U.S. Open. Advertisement Judging from her win over Collins, Gauff has a lot more work to do, especially on her serve. It's tough to beat anyone on the WTA Tour serving that poorly. It's nearly impossible against Collins, a big hitter who knows how to take advantage of a tentative foe struggling with the one shot no one can hide from. Collins kept reeling in Gauff all night. Gauff was up 5-2 in the first set before Collins drew even, only to let Gauff edge her out down the stretch. Then Gauff broke Collins early in the second and third sets, only for Collins to storm back each time, using her power to rush Gauff into errors. Gauff was up 4-2 in the third set, within shouting distance of the finish line. Double fault. Forehand error. Backhand error. Backhand error. And Collins was back in business. Gauff was supposed to have begun putting her serve issues in the rearview mirror last year when she hired Matt Daly, a grip specialist, who tweaked the way she held the racket. The double faults went down for a few months, only to creep back into her game and come out at some seriously inopportune moments. Still, Gauff was able to stage an extraordinary clay season, making two finals and winning her second Grand Slam. But that was on clay, where she could find an extra split second to catch up with returns on the slow red dirt. Hard courts are a different story. She needs to serve effectively to win, like just about everyone else. Even with all the troubles, Gauff was 2 points from the win with Collins serving at 4-5 in the third set, but Collins came up with enough power to induce the misses from Gauff. Collins got what looked like the decisive break with plenty of help from Gauff, who started the next game with two double faults, then plunked in soft balls on the next 3 points to allow Collins to hammer returns through the court. Advertisement Gauff, who never stops competing, even when her serve tells her she probably should, evened the match a final time on her fourth break-point chance of the game, rolling a short backhand through the court. Then came the deciding tiebreak. Gauff was 10-2 in deciding tiebreaks. Collins was 3-6 and played like it, sending a short backhand long and double-faulting to give Gauff a 4-2 lead. And then, somehow, Gauff finished the business in the most surprising way. She hammered a serve to get to 6-2 and smacked an ace to end it. She let out a scream. 'Making serves in the court was the toughest challenge,' she said. 'Maybe if I had cut that in half, it could have been a quicker match.' Quicker and cleaner. A win is a win, though.
Hans India
a day ago
- Sport
- Hans India
Satwik-Chirag return to top 10 in BWF rankings
New Delhi: India's dynamic men's doubles duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty returned to the top 10 of the BWF rankings, climbing three spots to reclaim the ninth spot. The Indian duo, who had previously held the No. 1 ranking, rose up the ladder following their semifinal finish at the China Open, the season's last Super 1000 badminton tournament. This was their fourth semifinal appearance of the 2025 season, having earlier reached the last four at the Malaysia Open, India Open and Singapore Open. In men's singles, Lakshya Sen climbed two places to move up to world No. 17 with 54,442 points. Veteran shuttler HS Prannoy also gained ground, improving his ranking to No. 33. In the women's singles, 17-year-old Unnati Hooda, who stunned two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu at the China Open, attained the career best ranking as she jumped four spots to be placed 31. Despite the loss to the younger compatriot, Sindhu retained her No. 15 spot and remains the highest-ranked Indian in the women's singles. In women's doubles, India's leading pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand remained firm at No. 11, while Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa rose two positions to 45th.
New Straits Times
a day ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Malaysian shuttlers eye historic double world titles in Paris
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia could be in for a bumper outing at next month's Badminton World Championships in Paris — with not one but two world titles within reach, based on current form and World Tour stats. In men's doubles, world No. 2 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik are leading the charge. The 2022 world champions have consistently delivered at major events since their Olympic bronze in Tokyo, and remain Malaysia's best hope of striking gold again. But there's excitement brewing on the women's front too. Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah, the new world No. 2 pair, have been gathering serious momentum. The Thailand Open champions — who also finished runners-up in Indonesia and Japan, and made the China Open semis — are now poised to break China's long-standing grip on the women's doubles crown. Should they succeed, Pearly-Thinaah will carve their names in history as Malaysia's first women's doubles world champions. It won't be a solo mission in the men's doubles either. Malaysia also boast depth, with world No. 4 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin and world No. 7 Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun adding firepower. Between the three pairs, they've already shared six titles this season — Aaron-Wooi Yik with three, Wei Chong-Kai Wun two, and Sze Fei-Izzuddin one. All three pairings have reached at least one final in each of their last seven tournaments — a testament to their consistency and hunger. Their biggest obstacle? The in-form world No. 1 Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae of South Korea, who have bagged five titles this year. But with no strong second pair in sight, the pressure could mount for the Koreans in the French capital. Malaysia, on the other hand, hold an ace — coaching maestro Herry IP. Dubbed the "Magician", the legendary Indonesian has produced multiple world champions and now heads Malaysia's doubles project at BAM. Still, there are questions after Aaron-Wooi Yik's shock loss to scratch Indonesian duo Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri in Sunday's China Open final. But it's not unusual for top pairs to ease off slightly before a major. A win in China may have only added pressure ahead of Paris. As it stands, mind games are in full swing, and Aaron-Wooi Yik will lean on Herry's calming influence and his famed "no lifting" mantra to stay grounded. In women's doubles, Pearly-Thinaah are flying under the radar — and that may work to their advantage. They'll head to Paris as second seeds, avoiding a clash with world No. 1 Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning until the final. But the odds aren't all in their favour — they trail Sheng Shu-Tan Ning 9-3 in past meetings, and also have a 4-1 deficit against world No. 6 Jia Yi Fan-Zhang Shu Xian. Still, with the right mindset and peak fitness, Pearly-Thinaah could whip up a storm in Paris and lead Malaysia to a historic breakthrough on the women's front.
The Star
a day ago
- Sport
- The Star
Yew Sin-Ee Yi suffer early exit in Macau
PETALING JAYA: Men's doubles shuttlers Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi's recent run of good results came to a halt after the pair crashed out of the Macau Open. Yew Sin-Ee Yi were hoping to continue their encouraging form after making it into the semi-finals and quarter-finals of the Japan Open and China Open respectively over the past two weeks but were left disappointed after narrowly going down 15-21, 21-16, 21-23 to Indonesia's Rahmat Hidayat-Yeremia Rambitan in the first round at the Macau East Asian Games Dome yesterday. It was also heartbreak for world junior champions Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing after the duo lost 17-21, 16-21 to another Indonesian pair and top seeds Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza. There were better fortunes though for Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi when they defeated China's Ren Xiangyu-Sun Wenjun 21-15, 21-16. Meanwhile, in the women's doubles, Teoh Mei Xing-Go Pei Kee easily overcame India's Apoorva Gahlawat-Sakshi Gahlawat 21-8, 21-11 and will take on the winners of the all-Taiwanese clash between Lin Chih-chun-Lin Wan-ching and Chen Yu-hsuen-Liu Chiao-yun next. Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting, though, suffered an early exit after losing 13-21, 11-21 to Americans Lauren Lam-Allison Lee. Promising youngsters Dania Sofea Zaidi-Low Zi Yu also made a good start in their World Tour debut by making it into the main draw after beating Taiwan's Chou Yun-an-Huang Le Xin 21-17, 21-17 in the qualifying round. Dania-Zi Yu showed great resilience by bouncing back quickly after their disappointing quarter-final exit in the recent Asian Junior Championships in Solo, Indonesia. 'We are very excited to compete in our first World Tour competition,' said Dania. 'We never expected to qualify for this tournament as our rankings are still quite low. So, we are looking forward to playing against higher ranked pairs in the main draw.' Dania-Zi Yu are currently ranked 211th in the world and have a tougher task in the first round against Japan's world No. 63 Kaho Osawa-Mai Tanabe. Joining them in the main draw are Cheng Su Hui-Tan Zhing Yi, who had to dig deep to come away with a 21-14, 15-21, 21-15 win over Japan's Ririna Hiramoto-Kokona Ishikawa. Su Hui-Zhing Yi will next face Taiwan's Chen Su-yu-Hsieh Yi-en for a place in the quarter-finals. In the mixed doubles, Wee Yee Hern-Chan Wen Tse set-up an all-Malaysian first round clash against Loo Bing Kun-Pei Kee after coming out on top over Taiwan's Cheng Kai-wen-Liu Chiao-yun 21-8, 17-21, 21-17 in the qualifying round. RESULTS ( Malaysians Only ) Qualifying round Women's doubles: Dania Sofea Zaidi-Low Zi Yu bt Chou Yun-anHuang (Tpe) Le Xin 21-17, 21-17; Cheng Su Hui-Tan Zhing Yi bt Ririna Hiramoto-Kokona Ishikawa (Jpn) 21-14, 15-21, 21-15. Mixed doubles: Wee Yee Hern-Chan Wen Tse bt Cheng Kai-wen-Liu Chiao-yun (Tpe) 21-8, 17-21, 21-17. First round Men's doubles: Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi bt Ren XiangyuSun Wenjun (Chn) 21-15, 21-16; Rahmat Hidayat-Yeremia Rambitan (Ina) bt Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi 21-15, 16-21, 23-21, Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza (Ina) bt Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing 21-17, 21-16. Women's doubles: Teoh Mei Xing-Go Pei Kee bt Apoorva Gahlawat-Sakshi Gahlawat (Ind) 21-8, 21-11; Lauren Lam-Allison Lee (US) bt Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting 21-13, 21-11
