Latest news with #Yufei
Indian Express
7 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.
Indian Express
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
Controversial line calls at Singapore Open badminton hurts Indians but coaches advise Anmol Kharb and Kiran George to move on
Tai Tzu Ying would wander away and simply resume the next rally quickly. Akane Yamaguchi wouldn't even acknowledge that a point was lost and wear her oblivious expression. Even Carolina Marin, the tempestuous Spaniard, would grin cheekily, and carry on battling. If a line call did not go their way – as happens umpteen times in badminton with its non TV courts – they seldom argued or let it mess with their equilibrium. 'Just forget it and move on. There's nothing you can do,' is Pullela Gopichand's pithy advice to all Indians. On Tuesday he was courtside to deliver it himself to young Anmol Kharb, at the Singapore Open as she lost 21-11, 24-22 to Chen Yufei. India copped an unfair few on a terribly fraught Tuesday. Badminton, even at the highest levels – Singapore Open is a tier just below the top – does not offer review technology on all courts, and it's especially aggravating in early rounds with side courts on non TV days. In the first round of the Super 750, Anmol Kharb and Kiran George – yet to make a big mark on the international circuit – faced the worst of it. The opponents were both Chinese, and Kiran lost 21-19, 21-17 to Weng Hong Yang after leading 18-17 in the opener. But the takeaway was – as tough as it gets, 'The players have to accept the chair umpire's decision,' as his coach Sagar Chopda opined. Anmol viewed playing Chen Yufei as an opportunity, and after a tentative start she was at 17-17 in the second, sending down a straight smash past Yufei's absent backhand – a whipped hit that hilariously had the Chinese coach instinctively applauding before he froze and stopped. Anmol next employed the long rally which was troubling the Tokyo Olympic champion slightly in that she couldn't adequately tame the Indian's smart lifts and sent it wide. 19-17. Hopes of pushing a decider. Yufei pulled it back with a body attack on Anmol, but the Indian sent another drilling, proper smash to Yufei's left. 20-18. Nerves and finishing fright might have led to Anmol spraying the next smash way wide. A proper botch up. But in the next rally, playing extremely well with one set point intact, and making Yufei hustle, the Chinese sent a cross drop on the sideline, that Anmol thought landed out. Without replays, it was impossible to judge but it was ruled in, and the score was 20-20. Anmol's next return in the net was the worrying reaction that coaches fear mess with equanimity. 20-21. On a day when only PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy expectedly progressed, Anmol had the chance to take the Chinese star to the decider. She shrugged off the poor call, and played perhaps the best point of the match for 21-21. A push drop wrong-footed the always assured Yufei, whose anticipation skills and footwork are legendary. Another well constructed long rally saw Yufei go for broke, send a floater to the back corner, which Anmol believed had drifted out. The shadow of the shuttle was out, but even 20 repetitions wouldn't give clarity without Hawkeye summoned. This was Court 3, Day 1 – with no recourse to a review. Anmol tried arguing with the umpire, who had no intention of yielding. Mercifully, she didn't go to pieces. Anmol has one of the cleverest push-drops – which suddenly dips after crossing the net – and she sent one that caught the great Yufei in two minds and her feet in tangles. It was rather delightful as ripostes go. 22-22. Though the inevitable followed. Anmol sent the next sailing long, and though she tried what is essentially a pullback push-drop to Yufei's forehand net, a swell idea, the execution was imperfect and wide, and she went down 22-24, making Yufei labour for 50 minutes for her straight sets win. Poor line calls blighted Kiran George's match, a much closer 21-19, 21-17 margin in 47 minutes. The two horrendous line calls had a bearing, but it only highlighted how tough it gets at this level with badminton's rationed reviews. 'If they continue to argue then there's a possibility of a yellow card,' coach Sagar Chopda said, adding BWF needs to mull over cheaper review technology implemented on all courts and across all levels of tournaments. Parupalli Kashyap insists chances of calls being overturned are next to zilch. 'Just have to complain and make sure your voice is heard. So that it's not getting deliberate. Or the umpires are not taking it easy,' Kashyap says. 'The linesmen are doing their job the whole day from morning to evening for days together so there will be times when they are not focussed enough or haven't seen it properly,' he explains. 'That being said you can't do much once decision is given,' he says. It's part of the learning curve for young Anmol.
The Star
03-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Yufei in good stead to steer China to 14th crown
PETALING JAYA: Women's singles shuttler Chen Yufei is ready to propel China to another Sudirman Cup crown today after starring in the team's 3-0 victory over Japan in the semi-finals. Yufei claimed the winning point for the hosts after brilliantly coming from behind to beat long time rival Akane Yamaguchi 17-21, 21-9, 21-16 in a hard fought 76-minute match at the Xiamen Fenghuang Gymnasium yesterday. Earlier, mixed doubles pair Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping had given China the perfect start when they swept aside Hiroki Midorikawa-Arisa Igarashi 21-11, 21-17. Then, world No. 1 Shi Yuqi doubled his team's lead by overpowering world No. 8 Kodai Naraoka 21-8, 21-16 in the men's singles. The victory ensured that China reached the final for an astonishing 16th consecutive edition in the mixed team meet. The team will be the favourites to win the title for the 14th time and will take on either South Korea or Indonesia in the final. Yufei is not celebrating just yet as she wants to finish the job first. 'I am very happy with the result but the Sudirman Cup has not ended yet. We will leave the celebrations after we claim the title,' said Yufei in a post match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF). 'If I'm fielded in the final, I need to ensure that I'm in my best condition and prepare well. 'The whole team will work together. Everyone is feeling motivated to win the title. 'There will be pressure for both teams in the title-deciding tie but it's important for us to stay confident,' added Yufei. Both Yufei and Yuqi played important roles in China's triumphs in the past three editions in 2019 (Nanning), 2021 (Vantaa) and 2023 (Suzhou).
