Latest news with #HongKongOpen
New Straits Times
26-05-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Notorious draught is a bigger enemy for Jun Hao
KUALA LUMPUR: Shuttler Leong Jun Hao will have to worry more about the notorious draught at the Singapore Indoor Stadium than his Chinese opponent, Lei Lan Xi, at the Singapore Open which begins tomorrow. National coaching director Kenneth Jonassen said the draught will dictate play at the venue, and it is not just a headache for world No. 25 Jun Hao, but also his rivals. World No. 27 Lan Xi had lost in the first round of all the four tournaments he played this year, but was a runner-up at the Hong Kong Open in September last year. However, Jonassen is more concerned about the ability of Jun Hao to adapt to the stadium's conditions, which the Dane said are almost similar to Axiata Arena which is also known for its draught. "The draught dictates the playing style — which is a great test and the stadium is one of the unique places to play like our own Axiata Arena," he said. World No. 239 Ng Tze Yong will miss the Singapore Open and Indonesia Open on June 3-8 after picking up a knee strain during the recent Malaysia Masters. This leaves Jun Hao as the only Malaysian singles shuttler playing in Singapore as independent Goh Jin Wei, the world No. 44, has not entered for the tournament.
The Sun
21-05-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Malaysia falls early in women's singles at home tournament
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia's representation in the women's singles competition at the Malaysia Masters came to an early conclusion on Wednesday with both local players failing to advance past the first round. World No. 44 Goh Jin Wei faced a challenging opponent in sixth-seeded Ratchanok Intanon, a former two-time champion of the tournament. Jin Wei struggled throughout the match, ultimately losing 21-7, 21-15 in a brief 39-minute encounter. This defeat continues a difficult period for the 25-year-old Malaysian, who hasn't been able to progress beyond the second round in any World Tour event since her unexpected semifinal appearance at the Hong Kong Open in September 2023. In another first-round match, Malaysia's K. Letshanaa, ranked 51st in the world, showed promising moments against China's world No. 48 player. Despite taking the second game, Letshanaa eventually succumbed 10-21, 21-19, 21-12. The disappointing day for Malaysian badminton continued in the mixed doubles category, where Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Lai suffered their earliest World Tour elimination in six months. The world No. 3 pair and defending champions were upset by Denmark's Mads Vestergaard and Christine Busch, losing 21-18, 21-19 at Axiata Arena. This marks the first time since the China Masters in November last year that the Malaysian duo has been eliminated in the opening round of a tournament.
The Sun
21-05-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Early exits for Jin Wei, Letshanaa, Soon Huat-Shevon at Malaysia Masters
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia's representation in the women's singles competition at the Malaysia Masters came to an early conclusion on Wednesday with both local players failing to advance past the first round. World No. 44 Goh Jin Wei faced a challenging opponent in sixth-seeded Ratchanok Intanon, a former two-time champion of the tournament. Jin Wei struggled throughout the match, ultimately losing 21-7, 21-15 in a brief 39-minute encounter. This defeat continues a difficult period for the 25-year-old Malaysian, who hasn't been able to progress beyond the second round in any World Tour event since her unexpected semifinal appearance at the Hong Kong Open in September 2023. In another first-round match, Malaysia's K. Letshanaa, ranked 51st in the world, showed promising moments against China's world No. 48 player. Despite taking the second game, Letshanaa eventually succumbed 10-21, 21-19, 21-12. The disappointing day for Malaysian badminton continued in the mixed doubles category, where Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Lai suffered their earliest World Tour elimination in six months. The world No. 3 pair and defending champions were upset by Denmark's Mads Vestergaard and Christine Busch, losing 21-18, 21-19 at Axiata Arena. This marks the first time since the China Masters in November last year that the Malaysian duo has been eliminated in the opening round of a tournament.
The Star
18-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Pearly-Thinaah capture first title of the year at Thailand Open
PETALING JAYA: Women's doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah lived up to their top seed status and captured their first title of the year at the Thailand Open on Sunday (May 18). The world No. 4 pair defeated South Korea's Jeong Na-eun-Lee Yeon-woo 21-16, 21-17 at the Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok in 57 minutes to take the Super 500 title. The Malaysians previously defeated the South Koreans in their only meeting at the Orleans Masters, in the second round, in March. The win in Thailand makes Pearly-Thinaah's second Super 500 title, after they also won the Hong Kong Open last September. The pair now adds the trophy to their mantle alongside the Hong Kong Open, 2021 Swiss Open, and 2022 French Open. The French Open was the duo's biggest career win, with it being a Super 750.
The Star
17-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Pearly-Thinaah to stay aggressive against S. Koreans
Pearly Tan (R) and Thinaah Muralitharan of Malaysia hit a return against Apriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti of Indonesia during their women's doubles final match of the Hong Kong Open badminton tournament in Hong Kong on September 17, 2023. (Photo by Peter PARKS / AFP) PETALING JAYA: Sometimes things go your way and sometimes they don't. Women's doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah have experienced unsatisfactory record in the World Tour finals but are keen to stick to their strategy in the Thailand Open title match today. Pearly-Thinaah have reached eight finals before this but have only won three titles - the 2021 Swiss Open, 2022 French Open and 2024 Hong Kong Open. French Open was their biggest career title being a Super 700. The pair's aggressive and intelligent game play has so far paid dividends in Thailand and helped them to beat Japan's Rui Hirokami-Sayaka Hobara 21-18, 21-12 in the last four at the Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok yesterday. After a closely fought first game, world No. 4 Pearly-Thinaah raised their game in the second to wrap up the match in 45 minutes. Thinaah said that standing firm on their strategy helped them come through in the second game. 'In the first game, our opponents pressured us into making simple mistakes and that made it a close fight,' said Thinaah in a post match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF). 'In the second game, we told each other to stand firm on how we wanted to play and that really helped us to win.' Pearly said: 'Reaching the final boosts our confidence as we have had a lot of ups and downs. We discussed a lot about our game play which sometimes works and sometimes does not 'I'm very happy that things have worked out well in this tournament so far. We hope to keep this momentum for tomorrow's (today's) match.' Pearly-Thinaah have made it into their second final this year after finishing runners-up to South Korea's Kim Hye-jeong-Kong Hee-yong in the Indonesian Masters in January. Standing in their way to the title are another Korean pair Jeong Na-eun-Lee Yeon-woo. Based on the head-to-head records, Pearly-Thinaah hold a slight advantage after coming out on top over the Koreans in their only previous meeting at the Orleans Masters second round in March. On facing Na-eun-Yeon-woo again, Pearly said: 'We have played the Koreans once and they are a strong upcoming scratch pair. 'As usual, we just want to focus on our game play and hope this works for tomorrow (today).' Pearly-Thinaah's last title came in the Hong Kong Open last September. Men's singles: Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha) bt Loh Kean Yew (Sin) 21-10, 21-12. Men's doubles: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (Mas) bt Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Kittinupong-Kedren (Tha) 21-17, 21-13; William Kryger-Christian Faust (Den) bt Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto (Ina) 21-13, 21-12. Women's singles: Chen Yufei (Chn) bt Tomoka Miyazaki (Jpn) 21-11, 23-21; Pornpawee Chochuwong (Tha) bt Supanida Katethong (Tha) 21-9, 21-18. Women's doubles: Pearly-Thinaah (Mas) bt Rui Hirokami-Sayaka Hobara (Jpn) 21-18, 21-12; Jeong Na-eun-Lee Yeon-woo (Kor) bt Hsu Ya-ching-Sung Yu-hsuan (Tpe) 21-17, 21-19.
