Latest news with #BadmintonWorldFederation
The Star
a minute ago
- Sport
- The Star
Pearly-Thinaah rise to career-high No. 2 in the world
PETALING JAYA: Women's doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah received a boost ahead of the World Championships from Aug 25-31 in Paris after rising to a career-high No. 2 in the latest world rankings as expected. In the world rankings list updated by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Tuesday (July 29), Pearly-Thinaah officially moved up one rung from No. 3 to No. 2 after their semi-final finish in the recent China Open in Changzhou. The duo are the first Malaysian women's doubles pair to break into the top two in the world since Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty, who reached No. 1 in the world in 2009. There was also joy for national No. 2 pair Teoh Mei Xing-Go Pei Kee after the duo moved up two spots from No. 22 to No. 20. Mei Xing-Pei Kee were rewarded after progressing into the last eight in their maiden appearance together in the China Open.
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Pearly-Thinaah soar to world No. 2 ahead of Paris mission
KUALA LUMPUR: It's official — Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah are now world No. 2 in women's doubles, marking a career-best and Malaysia's highest ranking in the event in over a decade. The Badminton World Federation (BWF) confirmed the latest world rankings on Tuesday, with Pearly-Thinaah leapfrogging Japan's Chiharu Shida-Nami Matsuyama after their semi-final run at the China Open in Changzhou last week. It continues a stellar run for the pair, who were runners-up at the Indonesia Open in June and made back-to-back deep runs at the Japan and China Opens this month. The last time a Malaysian women's pair ranked this high was in 2009, when Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty reached world No. 1. The timing couldn't be better — the ranking boost is set to earn Pearly-Thinaah the second seeding at the World Championships in Paris (Aug 25-31), potentially setting them up for a favourable draw as they chase a historic podium finish. Not even Eei Hui-Pei Tty managed a medal at the world meet during their peak. To mount a serious challenge for top spot, however, Pearly-Thinaah must start winning titles — they remain 22,000 points behind world No. 1 Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning. Meanwhile, compatriots Go Pei Kee-Teoh Mei Xing broke into the world's top 20 for the first time, climbing to No. 18 after reaching the quarter-finals in Changzhou — another big step in their rapid rise this season. In men's doubles, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik remain Malaysia's top pair at No. 2, closing the gap on South Korea's Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae after finishing runners-up in China. However, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani slipped one place to No. 4 following an early exit in Changzhou, overtaken by Denmark's Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen. Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun held firm at No. 7, while veterans Nur Azriyn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong climbed two rungs to No. 23. Wan Arif Junaidi-Yap Roy King (No. 24) and Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (No. 29) round off the six Malaysian men's pairs in the world's top 32. In men's singles, Leong Jun Hao continues to lead the national charge, climbing two spots to No. 24 after reaching the last 16 in China. Lee Zii Jia, meanwhile, slipped to No. 35 after another week out with injury. The former All England champion, who fell out of the world's top 32 last week, still holds a protected ranking of No. 9 — allowing him to enter any World Tour event when he returns. In mixed doubles, Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei climbed back to world No. 3, matching their career-best position from earlier this year. Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai dropped two rungs to No. 8, while Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin (No. 16) and Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien (No. 32) complete the four Malaysian pairs currently inside the top 32. Women's singles remains the only department without Malaysian representation in the world's top 32 — with K. Letshanaa currently the highest-ranked at No. 41.
The Star
a day ago
- Sport
- The Star
Bigger gain after pain
Tough battle: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in action against Indonesia's Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri during the China Open men's doubles final in Changzhou yesterday. — AFP PETALING JAYA: Men's doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik have vowed to make amends after missing out on the China Open title by going all out to capture gold in the World Championships. Aaron-Wooi Yik were hoping to win their first World Tour Super 1000 title but were denied by Indonesia's Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri, losing 15-21, 14-21 at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Changzhou yesterday. While it was a disappointing end after a good run in the tourney, the world No. 2 pair are keen to use the pain to drive them to the world title in Paris from Aug 25-31. Aaron-Wooi Yik created history by becoming the first Malaysian shuttlers to win gold in the 2022 edition in Tokyo before claiming bronze in 2023 and are now eyeing a third medal in Paris. 'Our goal is the gold medal in the world meet. We hope to keep improving and grab it,' Aaron told the Badminton World Federation (BWF). 'Next we need to recover and prepare well for the tournament.' Wooi Yik said: 'We still have almost a month to prepare and we want to keep our rhythm until Paris. 'We know there will be high expectations on us but we just want to stay calm because we believe the past is past. Our recent game play is different, so we just believe in each other and the coach's training. We don't expect too much but we still believe we can make it.' One pair who will not be in Aaron-Wooi Yik's way in the world meet are Fajar-Shohibul as the Indonesians have only recently formed a temporary partnership. Fajar has instead qualified for the prestigious tourney with former partner Rian Ardianto. In Changzhou, Aaron-Wooi Yik could not raise their game against Fajar-Shohibul and went down in just 35 minutes to the pumped up Indonesians in a fast-paced match. It was Aaron-Wooi Yik's second defeat in the China Open final after they finished runners-up to home favourites Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang in the 2023 edition. Aaron admitted that he and Wooi Yik found it harder to play against scratch pairings. 'All their shots were high quality and we couldn't handle them,' said Aaron. 'We always need some time to analyse scratch pairings and adapt against them. We had a game plan against them but they played very well.' Despite missing out on the crown again, Aaron-Wooi Yik are feeling positive about their performance ahead of the Paris showpiece after turning around their form following first-round exits in their last two outings in the Indonesian and Japan Opens. The duo had also made it into their fifth final of the year after capturing the Asian Championships, Singapore Open, Thailand Open and finishing runners-up to teammates Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun in the Malaysian Masters.
The Star
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Final loss in China fuels Aaron-Wooi Yik's fire to be world champs again
PETALING JAYA: Men's doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik have vowed to make amends after missing out on the China Open title by going all out to capture gold in the World Championships. Aaron-Wooi Yik were hoping to win their first World Tour Super 1000 title but were denied by Indonesia's Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri, losing 15-21, 14-21 at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Changzhou on Saturday (July 27). While it was a disappointing end after a good run in the tourney, the world No. 2 pair are keen to use the pain to drive them to the world title in Paris from Aug 25-31. Aaron-Wooi Yik created history by becoming the first Malaysian shuttlers to win gold in the 2022 edition in Tokyo before claiming bronze in 2023 and are now eyeing a third medal in Paris. "Our goal is the gold medal at the world meet. We hope to keep improving and grab it," Aaron told the Badminton World Federation (BWF). "Next, we need to recover and prepare well for the tournament." Wooi Yik said: "We still have almost a month to prepare, and we want to keep our rhythm until Paris. "We know there will be high expectations of us, but we just want to stay calm because we believe the past is past. "Our recent gameplay is different, so we just believe in each other and the coach's training. We don't expect too much, but we still believe we can make it." One pair who will not be in Aaron-Wooi Yik's way in the world meet are Fajar-Shohibul, as the Indonesians have only recently formed a temporary partnership. Fajar has instead qualified for the prestigious tourney with former partner Rian Ardianto. In Changzhou, Aaron-Wooi Yik could not raise their game against Fajar-Shohibul and went down in just 35 minutes to the pumped-up Indonesians in a fast-paced match. It was Aaron-Wooi Yik's second defeat in the China Open final after they finished runners-up to home favourites Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang in the 2023 edition. Aaron admitted that he and Wooi Yik found it harder to play against scratch pairings. "All their shots were high quality, and we couldn't handle them," said Aaron. "We always need some time to analyse scratch pairings and adapt against them. We had a game plan against them, but they played very well." Despite missing out on the crown again, Aaron-Wooi Yik are feeling positive about their performance ahead of the Paris showpiece after turning around their form following first-round exits in their last two outings in the Indonesian and Japan Opens. The duo had also made it into their fifth final of the year after capturing the Asian Championships, Singapore Open, Thailand Open and finishing runners-up to teammates Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun in the Malaysian Masters.
The Star
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Tan-Thinaah need to be faster to change game plan after China exit
Verstappen: You can count on me, Mekies. > 34 PETALING JAYA: Women's doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah believe they need to be faster to change strategies during matches if they hope to win the biggest titles. Yesterday, Pearly-Thinaah's hopes of reaching back-to-back finals were dashed after they went down 14-21, 17-21 to home pair Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian in the China Open last four at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Changzhou. The world No. 3 pair had finished runners-up to another Chinese duo, world No. 1 Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning in the Japan Open in Tokyo last week and were aiming to get another shot at a title but could not raise their game against world No. 7 Yifan-Shuxian and lost in just 38 minutes. Pearly-Thinaah have found the pair tough to beat in the past, only coming out on top once in their past four meetings and again could not find a solution to overcome their rivals. The duo, who were left disappointed after the defeat, felt that Yifan-Shuxian handled the tricky court conditions better and they needed to learn from this. 'The Chinese pair's strategy worked well today (yesterday). They controlled the shuttle well despite the draught on court,' said Pearly in a post-match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF). 'In the second game, we tried to implement a new strategy when playing against the draught. 'We did well towards the end but it was too late. We have to learn from this and we hope to change our game play quicker next time.' Despite the defeat, it has still been a positive outing for Pearly-Thinaah as it was only the second time that the pair have progressed into the last four in a World Tour Super 1000 competition after their breakthrough in the Indonesian Open in Jakarta last month where they reached the final before losing narrowly to Shengshu-Tan Ning. While happy with their overall improvement, Pearly-Thinaah know that they still have work to do to win the biggest titles. With the World Championships coming up next for them from Aug 25-31 in Paris, the pair are keen to become sharper in time for the showpiece event. 'Over these past two weeks, the momentum that we have going into the court is something that we are really looking forward to and we are really happy about,' said Thinaah. 'There's a lot of positive lessons for us no matter win or lose, we got a lot of experience from these two tournaments. 'But there's still things to improve for both of us. 'We hope to go back, work on these and get better for the World Championships.'
