Izz Naqiuddin wins Thailand Open
The 21-year-old won the stepladder final after beating Singapore's Mark Ong in a sudden-death game 223-183 at the Blu-O Rhythm & Bowl Ratchayothin in Bangkok on Thursday (July 24).
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New Straits Times
5 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Arif-Roy King win all-Malaysian battle to make Macau Open final
KUALA LUMPUR: Wan Arif Junaidi-Yap Roy King emerged triumphant in an all-Malaysian semi-final showdown at the Macau Open, overcoming Choong Hon Jian-Haikal Nazri 21-13, 21-15 on Saturday to earn a shot at the men's doubles title. The world No. 24's kept alive their bid for a maiden World Tour crown, which would be their first together and Malaysia's first men's doubles title at the event in 12 years. The last time a Malaysian pair contested the title match in Macau was in 2013, when Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong lifted the crown. Since then, only two other pairs — Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani in 2019 and Nur Azriyn Ayub-Wee Kiong in 2024 — had made it as far as the semi-finals. Arif-Roy King, who are currently the third-ranked pair in the national team behind world No. 2 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and world No. 7 Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, will now have a golden chance to close the gap with their senior teammates. The opportunity is also there for them to claim the bragging rights as World Tour winners — albeit at Super 300 level — as their more established compatriots have already bagged two titles each this season. Aaron-Wooi Yik lifted the Singapore Open (Super 750) and Thailand Open (Super 500), while Wei Chong-Kai Wun triumphed at the Indonesia Masters and Malaysia Masters, both Super 500 events. Arif-Roy King had previously reached the final of a World Tour event once — the Spain Masters in March last year — but had to settle for runners-up. Their best run this year was making the semi-finals of the Orleans Masters in France, while they also reached the quarter-finals of the Indonesia Masters, German Open and Thailand Open. Although the two pairs train together daily under the national setup, this was the first time Arif-Roy King and Hon Jian-Haikal had faced each other competitively on the World Tour. For world No. 52 Hon Jian-Haikal, the semi-final run was a much-needed breakthrough after returning from an injury-disrupted spell in May. In their six outings prior to Macau, they suffered first-round exits on five occasions. This time, they made their presence felt — most notably by stunning former world No. 1 and Asian Games gold medallists Chirag Shetty-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy of India in the quarter-finals. Awaiting Arif-Roy King in Sunday's final will be either last year's runners-up Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani of Indonesia or Taiwanese brothers Lee Fang Chih-Lee Fang Jen.
The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
Thinaah prioritises consistency over world ranking in badminton
NATIONAL women's doubles shuttler M. Thinaah emphasised that consistency matters more than rankings, even as she and partner Pearly Tan reached a career-high world number two spot. The 27-year-old said their primary goal is to maintain strong performances rather than chasing rankings. 'For me, being world number two is just a number. The main thing is to keep performing consistently and supporting each other on court,' Thinaah told reporters after training at Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara. She added that preparations for the 2025 BWF World Championships in Paris (Aug 25-Sept 1) are progressing well. 'We are excited to be back training together. The world meet is a big tournament, and we are looking forward to competing there,' she said. Pearly-Thinaah recently climbed to world number two in the latest BWF rankings after a strong season. They won the Thailand Open, finished as runners-up in the Indonesia Open, reached the Malaysia Masters semi-finals, and made the Singapore Open quarter-finals. Their latest achievement was a runner-up finish at the Japan Open, where they lost to China's world number one pair Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning. - Bernama
The Star
4 days ago
- The Star
Pearly-Thinaah target more feats after reaching world No. 2
PETALING JAYA: Women's doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan - are eyeing more milestones together after rising to a career high No. 2 in the latest world rankings. Pearly-Thinaah officially moved up one rung from No. 3 after their semi-final finish in the China Open in Changzhou last week and are now hungry for more achievements. The pair are the first Malaysians in the women's doubles to break into the world's top two since Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty, who reached No. 1 in the world in 2009. 'Slowly but surely. Another milestone and to breaking more barriers together,' said Thinaah via Instagram yesterday. Reaching the top two in the world is a well deserved achievement for Pearly-Thinaah as the pair have been in fine form this year. The duo captured the Thailand Open and finished runners-up in the Indonesian Open and Masters and Japan Open. Pearly-Thinaah progressed into the last four and final of a World Tour Super 1000 event for the first time in the Indonesian Open and also made it into their first Super 750 title match in Japan since capturing the French Open in 2022 Pearly-Thinaah, though, have some way to go to overtake current world No. 1 Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning from China. The formidable Chinese pair have opened up a significant gap at the top after amassing 111,634 ranking points while the Malaysians have 89,416 points. Shengshu-Tan Ning have been among Pearly-Thinaah's toughest opponents this year, notably denying them in the finals in Indonesia and Japan. Pearly-Thinaah do have an opportunity, though, to end the country's medal drought in the women's doubles in the World Championships from Aug 25-31 in Paris. The pair's No. 2 ranking will give them a better seeding in the showpiece event and they will avoid Shengshu-Tan Ning until the final. The official seedings will be released on Aug 8 while the draw for the tournament will be out on Aug 13. Pearly-Thinaah came closest to ending their wait for a medal in the last world meet in 2023 but narrowly lost to China's Zhang Shuxian-Zheng Yu in the quarter-finals in Copenhagen. They are now primed to go further and break down another barrier.
