Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying reached the final of badminton’s Thailand Open yesterday with a three-set win over Ratchanok Intanon, setting up a rematch against Carolina Marin.
Tai won 12-21, 21-12, 23-21 in 59 minutes to set up her second final against Marin in two weeks, while Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin advanced to the final in the men’s doubles.
However, Chou Tien-chen was eliminated in the semi-finals of the men’s singles.
Photo courtesy of the Badminton Association of Thailand via CNA
Tai saved six game points in the win against her Thai opponent Intanon, who went into the match with a superior head-to-head record against the Taiwanese world No. 1.
Tai’s best streak was a run of nine consecutive points in a match that went down to the wire.
Spain’s fifth seed and former world No. 1 Marin had a much easier time, breezing into the final with a 21-19, 21-15 win over South Korea’s An Se-young.
Photo: AFP / Badminston Association of Thailand
The 27-year-old Spaniard, ranked sixth in the world, is aiming for back-to-back titles in this week’s tournament — the second of three consecutive events in Bangkok that culminate in next week’s World Tour Finals.
She came out on top last week against top-seeded Tai and continued her winning streak yesterday, maintaining her signature aggressive play against seventh-seeded An.
The pair had already dueled in last week’s tournament, with the more experienced Marin winning in a quick 21-18, 21-16 match.
An, an 18-year-old who was awarded Most Promising Player in 2019, was downcast after yesterday’s defeat.
“I tried to respond to her smashes and tried everything,” the teenager said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t go quite so well, so I’m a little disappointed.”
Marin’s signature yelps after each match point reverberated around the spectatorless stadium — a precaution taken by Thailand amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Taiwan’s world No. 7 pairing of Lee and Wang defeated world No. 2 pairing Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia in the semi-finals, winning 14-21, 22-20, 21-12 in 50 minutes.
In today’s final, they face Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia, who ousted India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty 21-18, 21-18.
The Taiwanese shuttlers won last week’s Yonex Thailand Open final against another Malaysian pair, Tan Wee Kiong and Goh V. Shem, and enter today’s match with a 2-0 head-to-head advantage over their opponents.
World No. 2 Chou fell 21-19, 21-15 to Viktor Axelsen of Denmark.
In 12 previous matchups, the Taiwanese has only defeated Axelsen twice and he also lost to him in the semi-finals last week.
Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo on Friday backed calls for the US to boycott the Winter Olympics in Beijing next year, saying that China’s “nasty” activity made it an inappropriate host. Pompeo, a vociferous critic of Beijing while he was former US president Donald Trump’s top diplomat, said that the previous administration had tried in its final months to persuade the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to move the Winter Games. “I hope that our athletes get a chance to participate in the Olympics,” Pompeo told radio host Hugh Hewitt. “They very much deserve that, but in the end, we cannot
Zion Williamson on Monday produced a dominant performance as the New Orleans Pelicans upset the league-leading Utah Jazz with a 129-124 victory. Pelicans prodigy Williamson finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds and five assists to give New Orleans a deserved victory over the Western Conference-leading Jazz. It was the sort of display from the 20-year-old Williamson that made him one of the most coveted young players in years when he was snapped up by New Orleans two years ago with the No.1 pick in the draft. Against Utah on Monday, the 2m, 129kg powerhouse used his physique and skill to barrel through the
EYE ON UNITED: Pep Guardiola said the team’s focus was on their next game after the league leaders dominated Wolves, although the scores were level after an hour Manchester City on Tuesday equaled their club record of 28 games unbeaten, hammering Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-1 to open up a gaping 15-point lead at the top of the Premier League table. Pep Guardiola shuffled his pack at the Etihad Stadium against the team who did the league double against them last season as he maintained his club’s assault on an unprecedented quadruple. The champions-elect were made to sweat after Conor Coady canceled out an early own-goal from Leander Dendoncker, but two late goals from Gabriel Jesus and a Riyad Mahrez strike sealed the three points. City’s 28-match unbeaten run in all competitions equals
What to do if you are a windsurfing enthusiast in a country where the sea freezes over for months of the year? For a group of Finns, the answer is to kit out sailboards with skates and take to the ice, reaching speeds of up to 100kph in a burgeoning sport that can only be practiced in a handful of places around the world. “I call them happiness machines,” Feodor Gurvits said, pointing to his self-made board which sits on three blades and has a windsurfing sail attached. “They really make people smile.” Gurvits and about half a dozen ice surfers
RSS