Taiwanese badminton star Chou Tien-chen on Saturday triumphed in a 64-minute marathon match against Japan’s Koki Watanabe to advance to the men’s singles final at the Arctic Open in Vantaa, Finland.
World No. 10 Chou defeated Watanabe 21-12, 14-21, 21-10 to set up a showdown against world No. 5 Jonatan Christie of Indonesia after press time last night.
Christie has won nine of their sixteen encounters since 2015, while Chou has won seven, including their most recent match at the KFF Singapore Open on May 29, when the Taiwanese eliminated Christie 21-17, 21-6 in the opening round.
Photo: CNA
Chou’s match against fifth seed Christie would be his fourth final this season. Chou won the Thailand Masters title in February.
Despite having just played for 87 minutes in the quarter-finals on Friday, 34-year-old Chou showed no signs of fatigue in the match against world No. 14 Watanabe.
In the first set, Chou capitalized on his excellent net play and Watanabe’s shot instability after movement to score six consecutive points from 12-8, ultimately taking the first game with ease.
While Watanabe increased his pace to break through Chou’s defense and win the second set, the seventh seed Taiwanese opened the third with a strong 7-2 run.
Despite Watanabe’s attempts to counterattack, former world No. 2 Chou repeatedly dismantled his smashes, widening the score gap until he secured a 20-10 match point with a cross-court smash.
In his quarter-final against France’s Alex Lanier, Chou won 22-20, 13-21, 21-19 in 87 minutes, avenging his loss to the world No. 21 in the final of the Japan Open in August.
In a tightly contested first set, Chou fought back after falling behind six times to secure a set point at 20-19. Despite his opponent leveling the score at 20-20, Chou found an extra gear to win the next two points and take the set.
Chou lost his rhythm in the second set, which the French player took to level the score, but regained his form in the third set with excellent net play, scoring three consecutive points to secure victory when trailing 18-19.
Lanier played well throughout the match, Chou said.
“I tried my best to pressure him, look for scoring opportunities throughout the game, and stick to my strategy,” he said.
At the World Junior Championships in Nanchang, China, Taiwan’s Lai Po-yu and Sun Liang-ching yesterday crashed out of the mixed doubles final, losing 21-18, 21-14 to China’s Lin Xiangyi and Liu Yuanyuan.
On Saturday, the Taiwanese pair, who were teaming up for the first time at the tournament, defeated Japan’s Shuji Sawada and Aya Tamaki 21-11, 21-15 in the semi-final.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
RSS