Letshanaa's strong run in US Open impresses Jonassen
World No. 50 Letshanaa played the match of her life to oust world No. 42 Okuhara 21-8, 21-18 in the first round and world No. 49 Aakarshi 21-17, 20-22, 21-13 in the second round.
"A strong performance (against Okuhara). It's not easy to follow up with a win yesterday (Thursday) against a just as good but lesser known opponent (Aakarshi)," said Jonassen who is currently back in Denmark on holiday.
It was Letshanaa's second quarter-final appearance in a Super 300 event on the World Tour this year after the Taiwan Open last month.
Okuhara was also a bronze medallist at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and a winner of 17 international titles. But multiple injuries have affected the 30-year-old from Nagano.
Letshanaa faces a tricky match against India's world No. 66 Tanvi Sharma in a late last eight match on Friday.
Tanvi is just 16 but secured an impressive win over Thailand's world No. 58 Pitchamon Opatniputh in the second round. The Thai was runner-up at the Taiwan Open where Letshanaa managed only a last eight spot.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
3 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Eogene bounces back to reach Canada Open main draw
KUALA LUMPUR: Eogene Ewe showed strong resolve to bounce back from last week's early exit at the US Open by booking his place in the main draw of the Canada Open. The world No. 98 cleared both his qualifying hurdles at the Markham Pan Am Centre in Ontario on Tuesday to earn a shot at redemption in the Super 300 tournament. Eogene made a confident start, brushing aside India's world No. 137 Chirag Sen 21-14, 21-10. He then edged Taiwan's world No. 93 Ting Yen Chen 21-19, 22-20, improving his head-to-head record against the Taiwanese to 3-1. The back-to-back wins will be a welcome confidence boost for the 20-year-old, who crashed out in the opening qualifying round of the US Open last week to South Korea's Yoo Tae Bin — the same player he had beaten to win the Slovenia Open title in May. Eogene will now look for a further breakthrough when he takes on world No. 40 Takuma Obayashi in the first round on Wednesday. The Japanese shuttler was a finalist at the 2022 Canada Open. Three other Malaysians will also begin their campaigns on Wednesday. World No. 43 Justin Hoh, who fell short of expectations at the US Open last week, opens his men's singles challenge against Taiwan's world No. 71 Wang Po Wei. In the women's singles, K. Letshanaa, fresh off a new career-high ranking of No. 45, will meet American world No. 67 Ishika Jaiswal. World No. 87 Wong Ling Ching faces a tough first-round clash against Denmark's fifth seed and world No. 31 Line Christophersen.
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Virginia swimmer Gretchen Walsh wins Honda Cup as top woman athlete
Jun 5, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, UNITED STATES; Gretchen Walsh swims in the womenÕs 100 meter butterfly at the Toyota National Championships swimming meet at Indiana University Natatorium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images/File Photo Virginia star swimmer Gretchen Walsh won the prestigious Honda Cup as the top Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year. The other two finalists were UConn basketball star Paige Bueckers and Texas Tech softball player NiJaree Canady. Walsh joins basketball legend Dawn Staley (1991) as the only Cavaliers to win the honor. Walsh is the ninth swimmer to win the award, a list that includes two-time winner Tracy Caulkins (1982, 1984), Missy Franklin (2015) and Katie Ledecky (2017). "I feel like I'm on cloud nine right now," Walsh said after being named the winner. "Honestly, being nominated for this award last year was a big deal to me. To win it this year is obviously unreal. It's interesting this sport, you know, it's all-year-round, and it feels like it never stops. But to have these moments of knowing that all the hard work and the never-ending training is coming to fruition, and it's worth it. "It's really nice to have this recognition and to win this award among such an amazing group of athletes. And these women, all of us, different disciplines, different sports, but just excelling in all fields, it is really cool to be represented in a group like this." Walsh won NCAA individual titles in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter freestyle and 100-meter butterfly this season to raise her total to nine titles. She also holds nine NCAA records (four individual, five relays). The Cavaliers won four straight team titles during Walsh's career. Of course, Walsh is also known for her international profile and she won three gold medals and one silver at last month's U.S. national championships. She set the world record with a time of 54.60 seconds in the 100 butterfly at the TYR Pro Swim Series. At the 2024 Olympics in Paris, Walsh won two gold medals and two silvers. --Field Level Media
Malaysia Sun
9 hours ago
- Malaysia Sun
16-year-old Tanvi Sharma crowned world number one junior women's singles shuttler
New Delhi [India], July 1 (ANI): Sixteen-year-old badminton star Tanvi Sharma has done India proud, as she was announced as the new world number one junior women's singles player on Tuesday. The official X handle of the Badminton Association of India (BAI) posted, 'At just 16, Teen Titan Tanvi Sharma is the new World No. 1 Junior Women's Single Player. What a fantastic few weeks it has been for Tanvi! #Badminton #TanviSharma #TeenTitan #IndiaRising #IndianSports.' In the women's singles at the recently concluded US Open, 16-year-old Tanvi surprised everyone with a strong performance throughout the tournament. She defeated players ranked World No. 23, 40, 50, and 58 to reach the final. She lost to top seed Beiwen Zhang of the USA in a hard-fought match (21-11, 16-21, 21-10), Tanvi made history by becoming the youngest Indian to reach a Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour final. Earlier, speaking to ANI about her performance in the US Open, Tanvi said, 'It was a good tournament for me. I didn't expect to play in the finals. Because my starting round was 32, the first round itself was a tough match. I just expected to give my best. Whatever I was doing, I wanted to play well. I managed to win.' She also talked about her earlier matches, where she beat Vietnam's T L Nguyen (21-19, 21-9) in the Round of 32, Thailand's Opatniputh Pitchamon (21-18, 21-16) in the Round of 16, and Malaysia's L. Karupathevan (21-13, 21-16) in the quarterfinals. 'First round with the Vietnam girl. She was very experienced. In the second round, I played with Opatniputh Pitchamon. She was a former world junior champion. She was also very experienced. I managed to win. In the quarterfinals, I played with a Malaysian girl. She was also very good. I played my best and I won,' she said. Tanvi said her toughest matches were the first two rounds. 'I think the toughest match was the first (Round of 32) and second round (Round of 16). I thought both were tough because both were top-class players. I got a good experience by playing here. I just want to gain this experience. I want to play like this in the next tournaments,' she added. Looking ahead, Tanvi said she is preparing for the Asian Junior Championships and the World Junior Championships, both of which will be held in India. She also hopes to take part in higher-level tournaments in the future.'I am playing the Asian Junior Championships next month. After that, there is the World Junior Championships. Both of these tournaments are in India. I will try to do well in that. I want to play well in the Super 300 and 500,' she concluded. (ANI)
