Latest news with #Thais
New Straits Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Soon Huat-Shevon upbeat despite Singapore Open exit
KUALA LUMPUR: Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai may have missed out on a semi-final berth at the Singapore Open, but the husband-and-wife pair were not disheartened by their improved showing following last week's early exit at the Malaysia Masters. The world No. 5 champions in 2018, were denied by Thailand's Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran in a 19-21, 22-20, 21-17 quarter-final defeat on Friday. Soon Huat-Shevon were just a point away from sealing the match in straight games, having led 19-17 and held match point at 20-19 in the second. But the Thais dug deep to force a decider and eventually prevailed. "I think overall we really gave our best," said Shevon. "Though we weren't on the winning side today, both pairs pushed each other to the maximum. We made some errors at crucial points in the second game and that cost us. We'll learn from this and prepare for tougher matches ahead." Soon Huat, meanwhile, said a win was always in doubt the moment they dropped the second game, as he had been playing through an injury sustained last week. "We both knew once we lost the second game, it would be very hard to come back," he said. "I picked up an injury recently, so continuing to play at full speed and power was difficult. But we still gave it everything we had." The pair were especially glad to bounce back after a disappointing outing in Kuala Lumpur, where they crashed out in the first round as defending champions. "Last week was definitely a setback," Shevon admitted. "We were disappointed not to go further at home, but we stayed positive, and I think this week shows we're getting back on track. "I'm really proud of my partner. It's been a tough journey for him, dealing with injuries and still putting in the hard work to improve. That's not easy. We're working on regaining our consistency and stabilising our game, just like we did at the start of the year." Soon Huat-Shevon began the season strongly with back-to-back semi-finals at the Malaysia and India Opens. They are now aiming to claw their way back into the world's top three after slipping two rungs to No. 5 this week. "Everyone's fighting hard for ranking points," said Soon Huat. "It's not easy to stay at the top, but we'll focus on each tournament and try to collect as many points as we can." They now head to the Indonesia Open, a Super 1000 event, before taking a well-earned break after three consecutive weeks of competition.
New Straits Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Heartbreak for top seeds Soon Huat-Shevon in Singapore Open exit
KUALA LUMPUR: Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai's hopes of reclaiming the Singapore Open mixed doubles crown were dashed after they fell short in the quarter-finals on Friday. The world No. 5 and top seeds went down fighting to their familiar Thai rivals Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran 19-21, 22-20, 21-17 in a three-game battle at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Soon Huat-Shevon were agonisingly close to sealing the win in straight games, having led 19-17 and holding a match point at 20-19 in the second, only to let the opportunity slip as the world No. 8 Thais forced a decider. It was the seventh career meeting between the two pairs in a short span of eight months, with the Thais now edging ahead 4-3 in the head-to-head. Soon Huat-Shevon had won their last encounter and were bidding for back-to-back victories over Dechapol-Supissara for the first time. The Singapore Open has been upgraded to a Super 750 tournament since 2023 - a step up from when Soon Huat-Shevon won it in 2018, then classified as a Super 500 event.
New Straits Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Soon Huat-Shevon bounce back from Malaysia Masters heartbreak
KUALA LUMPUR: After the heartbreak of last week in Malaysia, the husband and wife team of Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai are finding it happier in Singapore. The defending champions at the Malaysia Masters, they exited in the very first round. But on Thursday, they reached the Singapore Open mixed doubles quarter-finals. The world No. 5 beat China's scratch pair Feng Yan Zhe-Wei Ya Xin 21-11, 21-19 in the second round. "Credit to my partner who just got back from injury. He worked really hard to get back on court," said Shevon. "There was uncertainty before we went into the match today because our performance last week wasn't as stable as we wanted it to be. "Today, we both did our parts well. Although there were some unforced errors, we managed to bounce back." Except for the Malaysia Masters setback, Soon Huat-Shevon have now reached the last eight or beyond in seven of their eight tournaments since the World Tour Finals in China in December. They will next play world No. 8 Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran whom they have a 3-3 head-to-head record. The Thais ousted China's world No. 12 Cheng Xing-Zhng Chi 21-19, 21-18.
2 days ago
- Politics
US scholar leaves Thailand after charges of insulting monarchy are dropped
BANGKOK -- Thailand's attorney general's office has confirmed that it will not prosecute an American academic arrested in early April on a charge of royal defamation, his lawyer said Thursday. The offense is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Paul Chambers, who had been employed as a political science lecturer at Naresuan University in the northern province of Phitsanulok, departed Thailand after the ruling, said his lawyer, Akarachai Chaimaneekarakate, who declined to reveal his destination. The attorney general's office had already announced on May 1 that it did not intend to press charges against 58-year-old Chambers, an Oklahoma native, due to lack of evidence. But it had allowed the police in northern Thailand, which originally handled the case, to review its decision. The group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, which aided Chambers' defense, said on its website that police contested the decision, which was then referred back to the attorney general, who in turn reaffirmed his own office's decision to drop charges. An appeal of the revocation of Chambers' Thai visa, and another contesting his firing by Naresuan University are still pending, Akarachai said. Chambers' arrest drew concern from the academic community, especially from Asian scholars around the world, as well as from the U.S. government over free speech restrictions. Thailand's lese majeste law calls for 3-15 years imprisonment for anyone who defames, insults or threatens the king, the queen, the heir apparent or the regent. Critics say it is among the harshest such laws anywhere and has also been used to punish critics of the government and the military. The monarchy has long been considered a pillar of Thai society and criticizing it used to be strictly taboo. Conservative Thais, especially in the military and courts, still consider it untouchable. Chambers has specialized in studying the power and influence of the Thai military, which plays a major role in politics. It has staged 13 coups since Thailand became a constitutional monarchy in 1932, most recently 11 years ago. He was arrested on a complaint made by the northern regional office of the army's Internal Security Operations Command. One of its officers told a parliamentary inquiry that it filed the complaint based on a Facebook post that translated words from a website operated by ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute, a think tank in Singapore, about a webinar on Thai politics that included as Chambers as a participant.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
US scholar leaves Thailand after charges of insulting monarchy are dropped
BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand's attorney general's office has confirmed that it will not prosecute an American academic arrested in early April on a charge of royal defamation, his lawyer said Thursday. The offense is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Paul Chambers, who had been employed as a political science lecturer at Naresuan University in the northern province of Phitsanulok, departed Thailand after the ruling, said his lawyer, Akarachai Chaimaneekarakate, who declined to reveal his destination. The attorney general's office had already announced on May 1 that it did not intend to press charges against 58-year-old Chambers, an Oklahoma native, due to lack of evidence. But it had allowed the police in northern Thailand, which originally handled the case, to review its decision. The group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, which aided Chambers' defense, said on its website that police contested the decision, which was then referred back to the attorney general, who in turn reaffirmed his own office's decision to drop charges. An appeal of the revocation of Chambers' Thai visa, and another contesting his firing by Naresuan University are still pending, Akarachai said. Chambers' arrest drew concern from the academic community, especially from Asian scholars around the world, as well as from the U.S. government over free speech restrictions. Thailand's lese majeste law calls for 3-15 years imprisonment for anyone who defames, insults or threatens the king, the queen, the heir apparent or the regent. Critics say it is among the harshest such laws anywhere and has also been used to punish critics of the government and the military. The monarchy has long been considered a pillar of Thai society and criticizing it used to be strictly taboo. Conservative Thais, especially in the military and courts, still consider it untouchable. Chambers has specialized in studying the power and influence of the Thai military, which plays a major role in politics. It has staged 13 coups since Thailand became a constitutional monarchy in 1932, most recently 11 years ago. He was arrested on a complaint made by the northern regional office of the army's Internal Security Operations Command. One of its officers told a parliamentary inquiry that it filed the complaint based on a Facebook post that translated words from a website operated by ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute, a think tank in Singapore, about a webinar on Thai politics that included as Chambers as a participant. Chambers' supporters said that the blurb for the webinar, which was cited in his charge sheet as evidence, was not written by him.
