Latest news with #ToyotaThailandOpen2025
Focus Malaysia
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Focus Malaysia
Pearly-Thinaah's ‘undies on the outside ala superman' tournament apparel invites ridicule
TOP national women's doubles pair of Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan needs no introduction for their court exploits. On May 18, the duo was crowned the Toyota Thailand Open 2025 champion to become the first Malaysian women's pair to win the 41-year-old event. They came close for close to their second title this year at the Kapal Api Indonesia Open 2025 only to lose out in the final to China's world's No.1 of Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning in rubber set 25-23, 12-21, 19-21 on June 8. However, a recent social media post chose to highlight the pair's somewhat bizarre on-court outfits. Facebooker Rinny Ryn Yong has likened the pair's skirt as looking like 'a boy's boxer shorts with a sweat towel tucked behind'! Her light-hearted observation drew a lot of comments with many thinking they were the only ones who thought the sports attire looked weird. But alas, many out there shared the same observation. Quite a few were left wondering why the famed shuttlers were wearing their undies on the outside – ala superman – or in this case 'Malaysian superwomen'. Many did highlight that it was the fault of the kit designers rather than the pair per se. The duo who is currently ranked third best women's doubles pairing in the world were said to have little choice in the matter as the outfit is largely dictated by the Badminton Association of Malaysia's (BAM) sponsors. One netizen though wondered how such design could be approved by the BAM which is the sport's governing body in Malaysia. Quite a few though did see the funny side, claiming it was designed to purposely confuse the opponents. One went on to label it as a clever 'deceptive strategy'. All said and done, Pearly-Thinaah are no chumps. As reported in the New Straits Times, they have already pocketed RM614,511 from the World Tour in 1H 2025 alone. They earned the hundreds of thousands from 10 tournaments with the biggest purse coming from the Indonesia Open where they took home US$50,750 (RM214,670; runners-up). Earlier in the year, they earned RM158,689 for their Thailand Open triumph. Their other winnings came from the Indonesia Masters 2025 (RM76,368; runners-up) and India Open 2025 (RM56,275; semi-finalist). Pearly-Thinaah will resume their hunt for more honours and money at the Daihatsu Japan Open 2025 from July 15-20 which offers RM265,782 for the women's doubles top prize. Let us all wish them luck while at the same time hope they have snazzier uniforms this time. But as one netizen pointed out, whatever uniform they may be wearing, the important thing is their form on the court. – June 14, 2025
The Star
19-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Kunlavut claims second Thailand Open crown, Thai fans rejoice
BANGKOK: World No. 2 Kunlavut Vitidsarn delivered a masterclass performance to subdue Denmark's Anders Antonsen and capture the men's singles title at the Toyota Thailand Open 2025 in front of a jubilant home crowd at the Nimibutr National Stadium on Sunday. Despite holding a modest 1-6 head-to-head record against the two-time European champion, the 2023 world champion summoned a near-flawless blend of tactical shot selection, relentless attack, and remarkable court coverage to outclass world No. 3 Antonsen 21-16, 17-21, 21-9. The energetic support from 3,000 passionate fans spurred him to his second Thailand Open title, the first coming two years ago at Hua Mark Indoor Stadium. 'This is beyond expectations—he was playing incredibly well in the semifinals. I didn't think I was going to win; I just tried to give my all because so many fans came to support me. I'm really grateful,' said Kunlavut in a post-match interview. 'Looking at the previous results, I had lost to him most of the time. So I went into the court without pressure, trying to learn from him. Honestly, it was the fans who kept me going. If this were another tournament, I might have been done already,' added the Thai star. Kunlavut has now won three titles in 2025, including the Indonesia Masters in January and the Asian Championships in China last month. With six BWF World Tour titles under his belt, he's hungry for more. 'I want my fourth, fifth, and seventh titles to keep coming. There are still aspects of my game I need to improve if I want to win more,' he said. He now plans to take a one-week break before heading into the Super 750 and 1000 events in Singapore and Indonesia. Kunlavut's triumph brought some relief to Thai fans after hometown hope Pornpawee Chochuwong fell to Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei of China, 16-21, 12-21, in the women's singles final. In the other final matchups, Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik edged out Denmark's William Kryger Boe and Christian Faust Kjaer in a gripping men's doubles final, winning 22-20 21017 21-12, to claim their second title of the season. In the women's doubles, Malaysian duo Pearly Tan and Thinnah Muralitharan held their nerve to overcome South Korea's Jeong Na-eun and Lee Yeon-woo in straight games, prevailing 21-16, 21-17. Meanwhile, in mixed doubles, China's Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping beat compatriots Gao Jiaxuan and Wu Mengying 24-22, 21-16 to lift the title. - The Nation/ANN
