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The Star
11-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Dania-Zi Yu show they can take over from Pearly-Thinaah in future
Show of supremacy: Dania Sofea Zaidi-Low Zi Yu beat Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan-Nur Aina Maisarah Hatta 21-17, 21-19 in an all-Malaysian final clash in Bratislava. PETALING JAYA: Promising shuttlers Dania Sofea Zaidi-Low Zi Yu are shaping up nicely to take over the baton from stars Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah one day after capturing their first senior crown at the Slovak Open. But first, the reigning girls Under-18 champions Dania-Zi Yu will be out to make their presence felt in the Asian Junior Championships from July 18-27 in Solo, Indonesia. The 17-year-old Dania and Zi Yu, 14, came out on top over Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan-Nur Aina Maisarah Hatta 21-17, 21-19 in an all-Malaysian final clash in Bratislava on Saturday. The duo have continued their fine progress after winning silver in the World Junior meet last October and claiming their first international title at the Dutch Junior in February. Dania-Zi Yu look like Malaysia's best bet to win gold in the Asian Junior meet and will be keen to maintain their form ahead of the tourney when they compete next in the Slovenian Open which starts on Wednesday in Maribor. Meanwhile, it was also a good outing for Noraqilah, 17, and Nur Aina, 15, who managed to reach the final in their first international tournament together. The duo showed that they could be a strong back-up pair for Malaysia in the Asian Junior meet. There was also positives in the men's doubles when Loh Ziheng-Tan Zhi Yang finished runners-up after narrowly losing 15-21, 21-12, 19-21 to Poland's Adrian Krawczyk-Szymon Slepecki. Junior doubles head coach Pang Cheh Chang was happy with his charges' overall showing in the tournament but wants them to stay grounded ahead of tougher challenges ahead. 'For me, this is part of the process to develop the young players like Dania, Low, Aqilah, Aina, Ziheng, Zhi Yang to become more mature players,' said Cheh Chang. 'But the players should also understand that they need to learn to adapt their game and develop their own mentality in order to handle different situations and challenges in upcoming tournaments.' FINAL RESULTS (Malaysians unless stated) Men's singles: Charles Fouyn (Bel) bt Muh Kasra (Swe) 13-21, 21-9, 23-21. Men's doubles: Adrian Krawczyk-Szymon Slepecki (Pol) bt Loh Ziheng-Tan Zhi Yang 21-15, 12-21, 21-19. Women's singles: Aalisha Naik (Ind) bt Liao Jui-chi (Tpe) 25-23, 21-9. Women's doubles: Dania Sofea Zaidi-Low Zi Yu bt Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan-Nur Aina Maisarah Hatta 21-17, 21-19. Mixed doubles: Mihajlo Tomic-Andjela Vitman (Ser) bt Chen Hung-ming-Chang Yun-jung (Tpe) 21-13, 21-8.
The Star
11-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Dania-Zi Yu capture Slovak Open title
Women's doubles shuttlers Dania Sofea Zaidi (front) and Low Zi Yu captured their first senior title in the Slovak Open in Bratislava on Saturday (May 10). PETALING JAYA: Young women's doubles shuttlers Dania Sofea Zaidi-Low Zi Yu continued their fine progress by claiming their first senior title in the Slovak Open. Dania, 17 and Zi Yu, 14 defeated teammates Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan-Nur Aina Maisarah Hatta 21-17, 21-19 in the final in Bratislava on Sunday (May 10). It was the World Junior Championships silver medallists' second international title this year after they won the Dutch Junior in February. Meanwhile, it was also a good outing for Noraqilah and Nur Aina after they reached their first final together. In the men's doubles, Loh Ziheng-Tan Zhi Yang finished runners-up after going down fighting 15-21, 21-12, 19-21 to Poland's fourth seeds Adrian Krawczyk-Szymon Slepecki.
New Straits Times
11-05-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Shuttlers Dania-Zi Yu capture Slovak Open crown
KUALA LUMPUR: Dania Sofea Zaidi-Low Zi Yu continued to solidify their reputation as a rising women's doubles pair after capturing their maiden senior title at the Slovak Open on Saturday. Daniai-Zi Yu, who were last year's World Junior Championships silver medallists, defeated national teammates Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan-Nur Aina Maisarah Muhamad Hatta 21-17, 21-19 in just 33 minutes at the Bratislava Multisport Hall. World No. 638 Dania-Zi Yu had overcome Germany's world No. 721 Eva Stommel-Aurelia Wulandoko, 21-12, 21-4 in the semi-finals. The newly formed pair of Noraqilah-Nur Aina had reached the final after upsetting Taiwan's world No. 492 Chang Yun Jung-Wang Li Hsuan, 21-19, 21-10. This was Dania-Zi Yu's second international title of the year, having won the Dutch Junior in March. They also reached the quarter-finals of the German Junior in the same month. However, Malaysia's hopes of clinching a double at the Slovak Open were dashed after world No. 642 Loh Zi Heng-Tan Zhi Yang fell to Poland's fourth seeds Adrian Krawczyk Szymon Slepecki, 15-21, 21-12, 19-21 in a thriller in the men's doubles final.
The Star
03-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Coach Amelia wants Dania-Zi Yu to step up against seniors
Young combo: Under-18 champions Dania Sofea Zaidi and Low Zi Yu have a chance to shine in Europe. PETALING JAYA: The challenge is going to get doubly hard for promising women's doubles shuttlers Dania Sofea Zaidi-Low Zi Yu when they begin a long stretch of competitions against seniors. The reigning national girls' Under-18 champions will be tested when they play together for the first time in back-to-back international tournaments – the Slovak Open which starts on Wednesday, Slovanian Open (May 14-18) and Austrian Open (May 22-25). Dania, 17 and Zi Yu, 14 have been making waves together, notably capturing silver in the World Junior Championships last October and their first international title in the Dutch Junior Open in February. Junior women's doubles coach Amelia Alicia Anscelly said Dania-Zi Yu still have room for improvements and the three events will be used to gauge their consistency and fitness. 'Dania-Zi Yu need to be consistent and maintain their fitness to play back-to-back tournaments,' said Amelia. 'After the Dutch outing, their fitness was a bit low and mentally they were tired as well. 'We are now trying to help them prepare for back-to-back competitions in Europe and hopefully we can see some changes in them. 'They also need to be prepared to play in senior tourneys where the level will be higher.' The tournaments in Europe will also serve as preparation for Dania-Zi Yu ahead of the Asian Junior Championships from July 18-27 in Solo, Indonesia. The pair will be Malaysia's best bet to win gold in the competition but Amelia does not want to put too much pressure on her charges. 'They won the silver in the last world junior meet, of course there are increased expectations on them,' said Amelia. 'But I don't want to put too much pressure on them and push them too fast too soon. 'We will continue sending them for senior events, so that they will ready to make the step up when they move up to the senior team. We also want to help them improve their rankings,' added Amelia. Dania will also compete in Europe with Datu Anif Isaac in the mixed doubles.
