Latest news with #TokyoOlympics
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Singapore Open: An Seyoung's incredible unbeaten start to 2025 brought to an end by Chen Yufei
Since her Paris 2024 heartbreak, Tokyo Olympics champion Chen Yufei took a break from the sport, went to Australia to learn English, returned to the tour earlier this year, and won the Asian Championships title. Already a pretty darn good comeback, Yufei didn't lose perspective after she won the continental title in Ningbo. She knew An Seyoung wasn't part of the tournament and conceded that she remains the benchmark to beat in world badminton today. On Friday at the Singapore Open, Yufei completed that incredible challenge: she ended An Seyoung's sensational start to 2025, bringing a close to the 27-match winning streak that the Korean world No 1 and Paris Olympics champion had been on. And that too, in straight-games, winning 21-13, 21-16 in 50 minutes. That it took 10 minutes short of an hour for that scoreline is a measure of how difficult it is to beat Seyoung even on her bad days but Yufei prevailed to end Seyoung's quest for perfection in 2025. Having gone through a lot of injury troubles, and off-court drama, Seyoung has been more cautious in picking tournaments in 2025 but was smashing through the field in every event that she did play. In the 27-match win streak, she had only even dropped three games in the process. But that would go up to five against Yufei at the Singapore Open Super 750 quarterfinals. Smooth net deception. 👏 Follow live action: #BWFWorldTour #SingaporeOpen2025 — BWF (@bwfmedia) May 30, 2025 'The prospect of staying unbeaten definitely motivates me. All I can do is to train more, work harder and prepare more. My mindset is always to try my best to be perfect,' Seyoung had told Straits Times earlier this week. 'I will ask my coaches and staff how to relieve the stress… They may tell me simple things like move faster, or don't give the lead to the opponent. These simple instructions help to clear my mind on the court.' But on Friday nothing seemed to work at the levels we are used to seeing from the Korean superstar. At India Open where she eased to the title, Seyoung had told reporters how she yearns for perfection on court. A trait that makes her show frustration after making an avoidable error even when she is comfortably winning a match. In this instance though, the errors couldn't stemmed at all, even though the regular flashes of brilliance were still there, like this point. In the end, it was relatively smooth sailing for Yufei, who continues to raise the bar steadily on her comeback trail. Her celebrations told a story too, after a few fist pumps, an embrace with Seyoung, as she posed for cameras, she put her index finger on her lips. If there were any doubters at all about the level she is capable of getting back up to, she is certainly silencing them.
News18
6 days ago
- Automotive
- News18
'Always Had A Fascination For Cars': Neeraj Chopra Becomes The Face Of Audi India
Last Updated: Neeraj Chopra won the gold medal at the Tokyo Games in 2021. Javelin ace Neeraj Chopra announced his partnership with Audi India on Monday. The double Olympic medalist signed up with the German Automotive Manufacturer Audi, confirming it was a special moment in his career. In a social media post, the rising Indian sports icon said he always had a fascination for cars, and the Audi partnership is a dream come true. 'Just like most other kids, I always had a fascination for cars. But I never even dreamt that a moment like this could come true. Glad to be part of the @AudiIN family!" – Chopra wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. The javelin star also added a picture of himself with the Audi car to his post. Just like most other kids, I always had a fascination for cars. But I never even dreamt that a moment like this could come true. Glad to be part of the @AudiIN family! 🤩 #AudiIndia #Audi — Neeraj Chopra (@Neeraj_chopra1) May 26, 2025 Chopra turned into a national sports icon and a household name with the Tokyo Olympics, winning gold. The 27-year-old inspiring athlete has been in spectacular form this year. Chopra won the Potch Invitational Meet in Potchefstroom in South Africa with his 84.52m throw in April. He then broke his personal and overall national record, reaching the long-awaited 90m mark at the Doha Diamond League earlier in May. Chopra's throw of 90.23 m was only bettered by Germany-based Julian Weber's personal best of 91.06m. Carrying the momentum, Chopra clinched a silver medal at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial 2025 despite a late switch from the NC Classic whose postponement created space for the Poland event in his calendar. First Published: May 26, 2025, 14:53 IST
Yomiuri Shimbun
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Survey: 52% Hope Japan Will Host Olympics Again;92% Concerned About Social Media Slander Against Athletes
Yomiuri Shimbun file photo Japanese athletes enter the venue of the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Many people are highly aware of social media's negative impact on sports, a recent nationwide poll by The Yomiuri Shimbun has found, with 92% of respondents saying they think online slander against athletes, sports teams and athletic organizations on social media is a serious problem. The survey was conducted in March and April by mail. Asked if they want the Olympics and Paralympics to be held in Japan in the future, 52% said they do, including those who 'somewhat' do, the same rate as the previous survey in 2024. Forty-seven percent said they do not want the events to be held in Japan, including those who 'somewhat' do not, up 1 percentage point from the previous survey. Asked if regulations against slander through social media are sufficient, 87% said they do not think so, while 10% said they do think so. About whether it is problematic that athletes' privacy is violated through the internet and other media, 91% said they think so, while 8% said they do not think so. Once a person is slandered on the internet and his or her private matters are revealed, recovery is very difficult. The Yomiuri Shimbun and major IT company LY Corp. are continuing efforts to respect privacy in articles published online. The survey also asked about the Japan Games, formerly known as the National Sports Festival. As its venues basically change every year, the expense has become a big burden for many host municipalities. The Japan Sports Association's expert committee compiled a reform plan, such as having multiple prefectures jointly host the Japan Games and designating some municipalities as permanent venues for specific sports. Eighty-eight percent of the respondents said they support the reform plan, while 9% said they are against it. Asked what they expect from the reform, 48% cited a decrease in expenses for local municipalities, 38% said they hope existing athletic facilities will be fully used and 36% cited efforts to increase revenues by finding sponsors to give financial support. These answers show that people's concern for economic burdens on municipalities is strong. The survey was conducted on 3,000 eligible voters nationwide from March 24 to April 30, and 2,068 respondents, or 69%, gave valid responses.
The Hindu
24-05-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Malaysia Masters: Fit-again Srikanth shows vintage form, ends long wait for a title clash
In the hours after he beat Japan's Yushi Tanaka 21-18, 24-22 in the semifinals of the Malaysia Masters World Tour 500 event, Kidambi Srikanth would have got a fair number of congratulatory messages. It's easy to see why. The win takes him to his first major final since 2021. It is also his first summit clash on the World Tour in nearly six years – having previously reached the India Open final in March 2019. There's one notable absentee in Srikanth's message or call lists though. It's former India No. 1 Parupalli Kashyap who is one of the coaches Srikanth is currently training with at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad (he also trains with RMV Gurusaidutt and Pulella Gopi Chand). 'I've not called or messaged Srikanth for the last week. Right now, I don't want to do anything that might jinx him,' says Kashyap. If Kashyap's unwilling to risk anything that might break the momentum behind Srikanth, it's because he knows just how significant this moment is for the 32-year-old. 'I've seen Srikanth throughout his career. I've admired him as an opponent but also as a player and now as a coach. I've seen him rise and fall and go through so many highs and lows. This is such an important moment for him. He's had a lot of tough years in recent times,' Kashyap says. Acute struggle The struggle has been acute since mid 2022. Although he failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, he ended the year on a high, winning a silver at the World Championships. He had been one of the linchpins of India's historic gold medal at the Thomas Cup in May 2022. Since then, persistent injuries – to his ankle, knees and back – and a resulting loss of form and confidence followed. He failed to qualify for the 2024 Games in Paris and as the slide extended into 2025, his rankings started to tumble. Once ranked World No. 1, Srikanth fell to 82 in the BWF Rankings at the start of May 2025. For several years, Srikanth was the undisputed best male singles player in the country. Currently, there are nine Indian men ranked higher than him. That slide meant that Srikanth had to come through the qualification round to make it to the main draw – something he had to do even at the Malaysia Masters. 'No matter what anyone says, it's a huge hit to the ego, especially if you have played at the elite level for as long as someone like Srikanth has,' says Kashyap. READ | Srikanth enters Malaysia Masters final after beating Yushi Tanaka in straight games Recent results hadn't been confidence-boosting. Going into the Malaysia Masters this week, Srikanth had an 8-8 win-loss record for the year, with three of those victories coming in the qualifying round. In the current Asia leg of the World Tour, Srikanth had lost to Ayush Shetty in the second round of the Taipei Open. He also went down to Tharun Mannepalli in the second round of qualification at the Thailand Open last week. Even for someone who has seen Srikanth's struggle in recent years, the last few months have been especially difficult. 'Honestly, he had a very rough 6-8 months. With his ranking, it gets even tougher when we aren't even sure which tournaments to play and get results in. It's been a tough ride,' admits Gurusaidutt. Despite these defeats, Gurusaidutt, who was sitting in the coaches chair behind Srikanth at the Malaysia Masters, was hopeful of a turnaround. 'Srikanth wasn't getting the big results but he's been having good matches where he wasn't able to convert the big points. Last year, he was up 19-12 in the third game against Kento Momota in the Asian Team Championships and he lost from there. He was up 16-13 against Lu Guang Zu in the third game at last year's French Open but lost from there. In both matches, he was dominating the match before he lost. He became really aggressive when he tried to close them off and that ended up costing him,' says Gurusaidutt. Backing off to win Gurusaidutt says he, Kashyap and coach Gopi Chand spoke to Srikanth about that aggression that cost the matches. However, he also understood why Srikanth was playing that way. 'All three of us (Kashyap, Gopi Chand and Gurusaidutt) felt there was a need for him (Srikanth) to back off some of these over ambitious shots. Against Momota, he was leading 19-14 when he had the chance to place a shot from the front court but ended up hitting it into the net because he was trying to force a winner. The reason he even went for that half chance is because he was physically not fit enough and anyone who saw him play could see that. He had to go for the lines and hit as close to the net because he wasn't sure if he could stay in a longer rally,' he says. This lack of fitness wasn't because of any lack of intent in training for Srikanth. 'There's no one who is as hard working as him. You tell him to do anything and he will. But he just had constant niggles that didn't allow him to train as much as he needed to. This was probably inevitable. He's 32 now. He's not the same 25-year-old who could push himself without noticing the impact it was having on his body,' says Kashyap. It's only in 2025, following the Swiss Open in March, that Srikanth was able to train the way he needed to. 'With players of the level and experience that Srikanth has, it doesn't matter what's happened in the last several years. All they need is a good six-week block of training and you can see the difference,' says Gurusaidutt. Improved fitness But Srikanth isn't just in a better shape physically. 'One thing I'd told Srikanth was that while as a coach he was great to work with, he needed to be more responsible for his own training. In fact, in these last few weeks, he has been taking a lot of initiative in that. He's been able to take control of his training. His practise sessions have focus on finding his speed not just with his movement on court but also his racquet speed,' says Kashyap. But it's that improved fitness that both Kashyap and Gurusaidutt feel have made the most difference. 'Even though he didn't go very far in both Taipei and Thailand, he's been able to keep up his intensity for a third straight week. He's already played six matches at the Malaysia Masters and two of those matches (first round against Lu Guang Zu and quarterfinal against Toma Junior Popov) have gone to three games. There's never been one match where it seemed he was struggling physically. He's been able to attack while still keeping enough of a margin for himself. It's only when you are doubtful of your fitness that you go for the lines but he knows he has the ability to play three games if he has to. I don't think he's been in this shape since just before the Olympic qualification period. When he had those questions over fitness, he was approaching the match thinking of managing the match. But now that he is fit, he is thinking strategically on how to win individual points rather than trying to figure out how to conserve yourself,' says Kashyap. That improved fitness means Srikanth is willing to play a more measured and less error-prone game. 'More than attacking all the time, he knows when he needs to back off,' says Gurusaidutt. A big moment for 🇮🇳 Kidambi Srikanth! Hear what he had to say after the win. 🎙️#BWFWorldTour# — BWF (@bwfmedia) May 24, 2025 This is something Srikanth has observed as well. 'It's been a while since I've won this many matches in a tournament and I hope I can continue to do so. I've always been trying to better myself and this win just proves that whatever I'm doing is working,' Srikanth told BWF media after his win. His job isn't done just yet. In his four main draw matches, Srikanth has beaten players all ranked higher than him - World No. 13 Lu Guang Zu in the first round, World No. 33 Nhat Nguyen of Ireland in the second round, World No. 18 Toma Junior Popov of France in the quarterfinal, and World No. 23 Yushi Tanaka of Japan in the semifinal. His biggest test will come in the final against World No. 4 Li Shi Feng of China. The two have played each other four times with the Chinese, a former two-time junior world champion, winning on the last three occasions. While it is the Chinese player who will go in as the favourite, it would be hard to count Srikanth out just yet. 'Right now, he must be full of confidence. His run in this tournament would have reminded him not just that he can be in the top 10 but that he absolutely belongs at this level,' says Kashyap.
Barnama
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Barnama
World No. 1 Mixed Doubles Pair Zheng Bang-Ya Xin Still On Learning Curve
KUALA LUMPUR, May 24 (Bernama) -- They may be perched atop the Badminton World Federation (BWF) world rankings in mixed doubles, but for China's Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin, it's clear that heavy is the head that wears the crown as their journey is only just beginning. Ya Xin, 25, believes they are still some distance away from reaching the elite standard set by their seniors Zheng Si Wei-Huang Ya Qiong, who retired after winning the World Tour Finals last December. Three-time world champions and Paris 2024 gold medallists Si Wei and Ya Qiong are regarded as one of the most dominant and iconic pairs in badminton history. 'They definitely represent the highest level in mixed doubles. I mean their entire mixed doubles record is glorious and I think we're always trying to catch up to them... actually, there's still a big gap between us and them. 'Whether it's maturity and understanding or communication... perhaps, their strongest point is that when they face difficulties, they trust each other even more,' Ya Xin told reporters after their hard-fought 15-21, 22-20, 21-19 mixed doubles semi-final win over their seventh-seeded compatriots Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi in the ongoing Malaysia Masters Badminton Championships at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil, today. Ya Xin also believes the internal competition among China's mixed doubles pairs has proven to be healthy as they are constantly learning from one another. 'For instance, with us, sister (2020 Tokyo Olympics mixed doubles gold medallist) Huang Dong Ping will also come and teach us. I think we have a very good, healthy and competitive relationship,' she said. Tomorrow's Malaysia Masters mixed doubles final will be an all-China affair, with world number one Zhen Bang-Ya Xin taking on world number two Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping. Judging by their head-to-head record, things do not look good for Zhen Bang-Ya Xin as they have lost nine out of 11 matches against Yan Zhe-Dong Ping, who cruised to a 21-10, 21-7 victory over Taiwan's Ye Hong Wei-Nicole Gonzales Chan in the other semi-final.
