Chou stuns Vitidsarn, An storms into China Open semis
Chou outclassed Vitidsarn, the 2023 world champion and Paris Olympic silver medallist, in straight sets and will next face Chinese third seed and world number two Shi Yuqi.
Shi rallied from a set down to defeat compatriot and fifth seed Li Shifeng 15-21 21-15 21-11.
Denmark's second seed Anders Antonsen overcame France's Toma Junior Popov 19-21 21-12 21-8 to cruise into the semi-finals, where he will meet China's Wang Zhengxing.
In the women's singles, South Korean top seed An defeated Chinese fifth seed Chen Yufei 21-18 21-19.
An, 23, who won Olympic singles gold in Paris, will next face Chinese fourth seed Han Yue, who overcame Indonesian eighth seed Gregoria Mariska Tunjung 21-19 21-18 in a tightly contested encounter.
Chinese second seed Wang Zhiyi eased past Taiwan's Chiu Pin-Chian 21-16 21-11 to secure a semi-final clash with Japanese third seed and former world champion Akane Yamaguchi, who defeated India's Unnati Hooda in straight sets.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
4 hours ago
- Reuters
I'm no genius, says 12-year-old Yu after just missing podium at worlds
July 28 (Reuters) - Chinese 12-year-old Yu Zidi has become a sensation at the world championships after missing the podium by only 0.06 seconds in the women's 200 metres individual medley in Singapore on Monday, but she was keen not to get caught up in the hype. Yu, who shaved over a second off her personal best to finish in two minutes 9.21 seconds, received high praise from fellow competitors but said she was focusing only on her training. "I will try to get on the podium. But I feel like that's probably impossible. Still, I want to give it a shot. I was one step short today, so I will keep working hard," Yu told CCTV. American silver medallist Alex Walsh said Yu has a bright future. "She's obviously phenomenally talented at such a young age, and I think it'll be interesting to see how she takes this meet and translates it into the future swims," Walsh said. With the media comparing her with prodigies like Canada's Summer McIntosh, who claimed gold in the race, Yu shook her head when asked if she was a genius. "Not really. It's all thanks to hard training," she said. Yu is set to compete in the 200m butterfly on Wednesday, with the 400m medley to follow on Sunday.
The Guardian
5 hours ago
- The Guardian
Matildas hope to avoid potential pitfalls at Women's Asian Cup draw
Australia have begun a new era under head coach Joe Montemurro but are about to find out that life comes at you fast with the much-celebrated 2023 Women's World Cup a distant memory and the 2026 Women's Asian Cup now just seven months away. The continental tournament will be the second football showpiece on home soil in less than three years with the Matildas under pressure to build on the glorious heights of their semi-final run two years ago. Montemurro has a short runway to prepare for the tournament after taking the reins of the national side in June and immediately casting an eye toward the longer-term as much as the near future. But the focus will turn firmly back on the Asian Cup with the draw to decide the group stage and match-ups taking place on Tuesday evening. Australia qualified as hosts after being knocked out in the last eight four years ago, while 2022 champions China and runners-up South Korea as well as Japan were handed automatic qualification after finishing in the top three at the most recent edition. Vietnam, Philippines, and Taiwan booked their spots when topping qualifying groups and will feature again as they did in 2022. India also won their group and will seek to make up for lost time after being unable to take the pitch for a tournament debut due to a Covid-19 outbreak when co-hosting the last event. Uzbekistan return to the Asian Cup after a 23-year absence, while North Korea are among the leading contenders despite last appearing at the tournament in 2010. Iran return after appearing for the first time four years ago, leaving Bangladesh as the only tournament debutants in Australia and the outlier with a ranking of 128 and nothing to lose. The 12 teams that have qualified for the tournament to be held in March 2026 will be divided into three groups of four on Tuesday. Australia as the hosts are the top seed and placed in pot 1 of the draw, though they would also have earned that right based on their Fifa ranking as one of the top three teams at the event. Japan have the highest ranking of all Asian teams at seven, while North Korea are close behind at nine and the only other team ranked above the Matildas' 15th place when Fifa last ran the numbers on 12 June. (Seedings based on June's Fifa world rankings) Pot 1: Australia (hosts, 15), Japan (7), North Korea (9) Pot 2: China (17), South Korea (21), Vietnam (37) Pot 3: Philippines (41), Taiwan (42), Uzbekistan (51) Pot 4: Iran (68), India (70), Bangladesh (128) The three Asian heavyweights will be placed in separate groups though their hopes for a clearer path through to the knockout stage could be clouded at the draw in Sydney. Nine-time champions China and South Korea both loom large in pot 2, with world No 37 Vietnam the team most will want to face despite them reaching the quarter-finals four years ago. Philippines have their work cut out trying to repeat their efforts of 2022 when they made the last four, while this time being placed in pot 3 alongside Taiwan and Uzbekistan. Iran, India and Bangladesh make up pot 4. The top two teams in each of the three groups will advance to the knockout stages along with the two best third-placed sides. The tournament begins on 1 March when the Matildas face a team from pot 4 in Perth. Sign up to Moving the Goalposts No topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women's football after newsletter promotion The matches will be held in Sydney, Perth and the Gold Coast. Accor Stadium at Homesbush and Parramatta's CommBank Stadium will host games in Sydney, while Optus Stadium and HBF Park will be used in Perth. CBus Super Stadium will also feature during the group stage. The Matildas will play in all three host cities in the group stage, while hoping to top their group to set up a dream run at Accor Stadium through to the final. The final will be played at Accor Stadium on 21 March. The Olympic stadium will also host a semi-final, with the other finalist to be decided at Optus Stadium. As well as chasing a prized continental trophy, each team will be out to use the Asian Cup to secure their place at future tournaments. The continental event – for the last time – is also the final stage of Asian qualification for the next Women's World Cup, with the four semi-finalists joining the teams appearing in Brazil in 2027. The four losing sides in the quarter-finals will have another chance with a playoff to claim two more World Cup spots. And for the first time, the Asian Cup is a step towards the Olympic Games, with the eight quarter-finalists booking a ticket to the LA 2028 qualifying tournament.
Reuters
7 hours ago
- Reuters
Canada's McIntosh surges to second gold of world championships
July 28 (Reuters) - Canada's Summer McIntosh claimed her second title in two days at the world championships in Singapore with victory in the women's 200 metres individual medley on Monday, while Chinese 12-year-old sensation Yu Zidi just missed out on a medal. McIntosh, who won 400 freestyle gold on Sunday, was pushed hard by Alex Walsh in the middle portion of the race but surged ahead in the final lap to touch the wall in 2:06.69, with the American taking silver in 2:08.58. Three-times Olympic champion McIntosh is looking to match Michael Phelps's feat of winning five individual titles at a single world championships, which the American great achieved at the 2007 edition. Fellow Canadian Mary-Sophie Harvey bagged the bronze ahead of China's Yu, who caused a stir at the national championships in Shenzhen in May by winning the 400 IM and 200 butterfly titles, as well as coming second in the 200 IM, all with qualifying times for Singapore. Monday's evening programme kicked off with a thrilling battle between Qin Haiyang of China and Italian Nicolo Martinenghi in the men's 100 breaststroke. Paris Olympics champion Martinenghi led through the first 50 but Qin, who swept the breaststroke events at the 2023 world championships in Fukuoka, fought back in the final 25 meters to clinch gold in 58.23 seconds. Denis Petrashov took a stunning bronze in 58.88 to earn a first medal for Kyrgyzstan at a swimming world championships. Gretchen Walsh was the hot favourite in the women's 100 butterfly and she did not disappoint. The American shot out of the blocks and was on course to break her own world record but flagged slightly at the end to finish in 54.73, the second-fastest time in history. The 22-year-old now has the eight fastest times in the event. Walsh, who finished ahead of Belgian Roos Vanotterdijk (55.84) and Australia's Alexandria Perkins (56.33), had been a last-minute withdrawal from the women's 4x100 freestyle relay on Sunday, still not feeling 100% after illness swept through the U.S. team camp in Thailand just before the championships. Asked about overcoming the illness and performing at her best on Monday, she said: "It took a lot of guts. I think I just wanted to go out here and do it for my team. "Represent the flag well and I think that race just... It came out of somewhere. But I'm really, really happy." In the men's 50 butterfly final, France's Maxime Grousset (22.48) edged Swiss Noe Ponti by 0.03 with Thomas Ceccon of Italy taking bronze. "I don't know how I swam this final... a very fast final. Noe swam fast too. Overall, I am proud of myself," Grousset said. In the women's 100 breaststroke semi-finals, American world record holder Lilly King failed to qualify for Tuesday's finals, while 2012 Olympic champion Ruta Meilutyte also missed the cut. Regan Smith once again got the better of Australian Kaylee McKeown in the women's 100 backstroke semi-finals, with the American finishing 0.23 seconds ahead of her rival.
