Latest news with #Super300
New Straits Times
03-06-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Getting tips from seniors to slay samurai shuttlers
KUALA LUMPUR: Their seniors have just done it, beat Japan's former world champions Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi. And now, world No. 41 Haikal Nazri-Choong Hon Jian hope to get a tip or two from Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik on how to overcome Hoki-Kobayashi in their Indonesia Open opener tomorrow. Haikal-Hon Jian lost to the samurais in the Malaysia Masters last 16 two weeks ago, and to get their revenge, they must do something, particularly in the all-important "first three shots" of each rally. Teammates Aaron-Wooi Yik might just be the perfect source of insight, having recently snapped an eight-match losing streak against Hoki-Kobayashi en route to clinching the Singapore Open title. Previously, Aaron-Wooi Yik had a dismal head-to-head record of just two victories in 11 encounters with Hoki-Kobayashi. Haikal revealed he had approached Aaron during a training session in Singapore last week, but they didn't get to go into detail. "I spoke to Aaron, but we didn't have time to discuss in depth. I'll definitely try to approach him again at the Indonesia Open," he said. Haikal said national coach Herry IP had pointed out the similarities between their playing style and Hoki-Kobayashi's. "Both pairs play with an attacking approach, we don't lift the shuttle much," said Haikal. "However, Hoki-Kobayashi are very sharp in executing the first three shots. That put us under pressure and forced us into defensive lifts. "We lacked speed and quality in those early exchanges, and that made us uncomfortable throughout the match." Haikal believes he and Hon Jian still need time to find their rhythm, having only recently returned from a long injury layoff. The Indonesia Open will be their fifth tournament since resuming action at the Taiwan Open. So far, they have managed just one win — against Thailand's Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Kittinupong Kedren at the Malaysia Masters, and exiting in the first round of the others. "It's been a struggle to catch up since our comeback. We'll bide our time and gradually make progress," said Haikal. Haikal-Hon Jian, winners of two Super 300 titles, were once ranked as high as world No. 18, but their momentum was disrupted by injuries, first to Hon Jian late last year, followed by Haikal, which saw them only return to action in May. Meanwhile, world No. 33 Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien's campaign in the Indonesia Open mixed doubles ended in the first round following a 21-11, 21-16 defeat to Indonesia's Jafar Hidayatullah-Felisha Pasaribu.
New Straits Times
30-05-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Bad line calls fuel Aaron-Khai Xing's fire for first World Tour title
KUALA LUMPUR: Men's doubles Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing have put last week's umpiring controversy at the Malaysia Masters behind them as they refocus on chasing their maiden World Tour title. The world No. 53 were left frustrated by three poor line calls from Swiss umpire Peter Meszaros during their narrow second-round defeat to Denmark's world No. 16 Rasmus Kjaer- Frederik Sogaard (21-10, 24-26, 21-16) at Axiata Arena. The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has since lodged an official complaint with the Badminton World Federation (BWF) over the standard of officiating. "We were quite frustrated after the incident, but we got over it within a day," said Khai Xing. "The whole episode has actually made us mentally stronger. If it happens again, we'll be ready." The pair, who are reigning world junior champions, are now turning their attention to improving their performances and hope to land at least a Super 300 title this season. Khai Xing added that national coach Herry IP has been pushing him to develop more power and consistency from the baseline. "The coaches want me to be more lethal from the backcourt. I've got to add more sting to my attacking game." He also admitted that starting slow has been a recurring issue for the pair. "We often take time to settle into matches - that's something we really need to fix to achieve better results." Aaron-Khai Xing are preparing for the Macau Open on July 29-Aug 3, followed by the Hong Kong Open (Sept 9-14) and Korea Open (Sept 23-28). The pair are aiming to crack the world's top 32, which would open the door to play in the elite Super 750 and Super 1000 events.
New Straits Times
25-05-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Wei Chong-Kai Wun end Malaysia's 12-year drought [WATCH]
KUALA LUMPUR: Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun ended the nation's 12-year drought at the Malaysia Masters by upstaging seniors Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in a pulsating final at the Axiata Arena today. World No. 8 Wei Chong-Kai Wun took advantage of an exhausted world No. 3 Aaron-Wooi Yik to carve out a 21-12, 15-21, 21-16 win in 50 minutes to capture their first crown on home soil. The victory made up for Wei Chong-Kai Wun finishing runners-up at the 2023 Malaysia Masters, but most importantly, it was the country's first title in the Super 500 tournament since Goh V Shem-Lim Khim Wah's triumph in 2013. Wei Chong-Kai Wun had bagged three Super 300 titles (2022 Syed Modi International and 2022-2023 Taiwan Opens) and the Super 500 Indonesia Masters in January before today's victory at the Axiata Arena. At the other end, Aaron-Wooi Yik were gutted in their bid to achieve an unprecedented hat-trick by a Malaysian pair on the world stage, having won the Badminton Asia Championships in China last month and the Thailand Open last week. After playing back-to-back finals, the mental and physical exhaustion was evident though Aaron-Wooi Yik produced a gritty performance, only to lose to their equally determined teammates. The close battle was not entirely surprising as the head-to-head record of the two pairs stood at 2-2 with their last encounter going Wei Chong-Kai Wun's way in the Indonesia Masters semi-final (21-18, 21-15) in January. Wei Chong-Kai Wun had also beaten Aaron-Wooi Yik (21-11, 21-18) in the first round of the 2023 Arctic Open. Aaron-Wooi Yik had won 23-21, 21-10 at the 2023 India Open first round and 21-23, 21-17, 21-16 at the Denmark Open second round. Wei Chong said: "After winning the Indonesia Masters, our results dropped and the same things happened in previous years whenever we won titles or reached finals. "Discussing and communicating with each other have made things better. We knew their game will be affected a little (Aaron-Wooi Yik were tired) but we didn't think about becoming champions but focused on our own performance." Kai Wun said they are adapting well to national men's doubles coach Herry IP's training. "We are slowly getting used to coach Herry's gameplay and we were also mentally prepared to do better after losing (in the second round) last week at the Thailand Open." Aaron admitted that Wei Chong-Kai Wun played better than them. "We also made a lot of unforced errors. It (the result) is acceptable but there is a lot to improve on." Wooi Yik said: "Our condition was not 100 per cent but it was not the reason for us to lose today." RESULTS FINALS: Malaysians unless stated Men's singles: Li Shi Feng (Chn) bt K. Srikanth (Ind) 21-11, 21-9 Doubles: Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun bt Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik 12-21, 21-15, 21-16 Women's singles: Wang Zhi Yi (Chn) bt Han Yue (Chn) 13-21, 21-13, 21-18 Doubles: Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning (Chn) bt Jia Yi Fan-Zhang Shu Xian (Chn) 21-17, 21-18 Mixed doubles: Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping (Chn) bt Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin (Chn) 21-17, 14-21, 21-16 Previous Next
Indian Express
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
Malaysia Masters Super 500: HS Prannoy, Srikanth Kidambi, Sathish Karunakaran, Ayush Shetty beat higher-ranked players
In a year where men's singles results for Indian badminton have been well below par so far on the BWF World Tour, Wednesday came as a bright spot in Kuala Lumpur at the Malaysia Masters Super 500 event. Veterans HS Prannoy and Srikanth Kidambi, and youngsters Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Ayush Shetty all beat higher-ranked players to advance into the round of 16 at the Axiata Arena. Prannoy beat world No 12 Kenta Nishimoto, Srikanth Kidambi overcame world No 13 Lu Guang Zu, Ayush Shetty – who has been having a solid season – beat world No 30 Brian Yang. And the headliner was Sathish Kumar Karunakaran defeating world No 7 and veteran of the tour Chou Tien Chen. There was however heartbreak for PV Sindhu as her search for form and rhythm continued, losing 11-21 21-14 15-21 against Thuy Linh Nguyen of Vietnam. It was Sindhu's 2nd defeat of the year against Nguyen. Among the early matches of the day, former Malaysia Masters winner Prannoy – in a repeat of the quarterfinals win in 2023 on his way to a long-awaited title – stunned fifth seed Kenta Nishimoto of Japan 19-21 21-17 21-16. It was a typically hard-fought opening round match that lasted for one hour and 22 minutes. Prannoy fought back well after losing a really tight opening game, but the highlight was his comeback in the third game after he was trailing 7-12 at one point. The Indian won 14 of the last 18 points in a stirring comeback to enter the pre-quarterfinals and arrest a run of three defeats. Sathish also registered an upset by beating Chou for the biggest win of his career, registering a rather remarkable scoreline of 21-13 21-14 in just 39 minutes. It was followed by a fine win for Ayush – who has reached two Super 300 semifinals this year at Orleans Masters and Taipei Open – as he also progressed to the next round by getting past Brian Yang of Canada 20-22 21-10 21-8. Ayush turned things around after a slow start, letting Yang win just a total fo 18 points in the Games 2 & 3 combined. Srikanth then came up with a performance of vintage quality against an opponent he has had a fair amount of success in the past. Lu Guang Zu had reached the semifinals at Thailand Open last week, accounting for Kodai Naraoka on the way, so it adds to Srikanth's performance as he overcame the Chinese shuttler 23-21 13-21 21-11. In mixed doubles, despite a late injury scare for Dhruv Kapila, he and Tanisha Crasto prevailed against Indonesia's Adnan Maulana and Indah Cahya Sari Jamil 21-18 15-21 21-14. Priyanshu Rajawat is still in contention to make it five men's singles players in the second round. The likes of Aakarshi Kashyap, Unnati Hooda, Malvika Bansod are also in action later in the day. Vinayakk Mohanarangan is Senior Assistant Editor and is based in New Delhi. ... Read More
New Straits Times
19-05-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Justin gains from top seed Antonsen's Malaysia Masters withdrawal
KUALA LUMPUR: Top seed Anders Antonsen has pulled out of the Malaysia Masters, clearing the way for rising Malaysian shuttler Justin Hoh to earn promotion to the main draw of the Super 500 event. World No. 3 Antonsen was a finalist at last week's Thailand Open, where he lost to world No. 2 Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the final. His withdrawal means world No. 4 Li Shifeng is now the only top-six men's singles player featuring in the tournament, which starts on Tuesday at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil. World No. 45 Justin, who was slated to play in the qualifying round against compatriot Jacky Kok, now faces a tough first-round clash against world No. 8 Kodai Naraoka of Japan on Wednesday. Justin reached the quarter-finals of the Super 300 Taiwan Open earlier this month but fell in the first round of the Thailand Open. Meanwhile, men's doubles action starts on Tuesday with world No. 2 and second seeds Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani opening their campaign against France's world No. 48 Eloi Adam-Leo Rossi. World No. 7 Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun take on India's K. Pruthvi-Sai Prateek (No. 45), while world No. 31 Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi face a tough opener against China's world No. 3 Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang. World No. 21 Arif Junaidi-Yap Roy King are up against Hiroki Midorikawa-Kyohei Yamashita (No. 36), while Choong Hon Jian-Haikal Nazri (No. 37) face world No. 16 Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Kittinupong Kedren of Thailand. Newly crowned Thailand Open champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik will begin their campaign on Wednesday.
