Latest news with #IndonesianMasters
The Star
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Time for mixed pairs to deliver goods, says Nova
Malaysia mixed doubles shuttlers Hoo Pang Ron and Cheng Su Yin. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star PETALING JAYA: The men's and women's doubles have set the bar this year and now it is time for the mixed doubles to raise theirs. Mixed doubles coach Nova Widianto wants his charges, including top pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei to draw inspiration from the success of the men's and women's pairs this year and start delivering titles. The men's doubles department has been particularly impressive, with Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun capturing the Indonesian Masters and Malaysian Masters, while Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik have added the Asian Championships, Thailand Open and Singapore Open to their collection. The women's doubles have also stepped up, with Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah winning the Thailand Open. Now, Nova hopes his mixed doubles pairs can follow suit and secure at least one title, whether at the Japan Open (from July 15-20), China Open (from July 22-27), or any tournament before the World Championships in Paris this August. Besides Tang Jie-Ee Wei, the other BAM pair to compete in the Japan and China Opens are Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin. They will be joined by professional pairs, Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie and Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien. "Preparation has been okay. We've had about a month to prepare since the Indonesian Open," said Nova when met at the Academy Badminton Malaysian on Friday (27 June) "Previously, starting from the Singapore Open, things didn't go well for us, the results in Singapore weren't great, and it was the same in Indonesia. "Now we're heading into the Japan and China Opens, and hopefully, we can produce strong results. The success of the men's and women's doubles should serve as motivation for us in the mixed doubles to also win. Ideally, one title, or even both, in Japan and China. "Previously, we had a few issues, but now I feel that communication has improved. However, in terms of game play, I don't think we're at our best yet. But communication-wise, they're in a much better place now." He also believes the retirement of China's dominant duo Zheng Siwei-Huang Yaqiong has created a golden opportunity for other pairs to rise. "Ever since Siwei-Huang stopped playing, I feel the chance for all pairs to win titles is more open. So whoever is well-prepared and mentally strong has a real shot at becoming champions. "That's why we also have a good opportunity at the World Championships, and we must make the most of it. "Even the current Chinese pairs (Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping and Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin) aren't stable yet. I think they're still uncertain because they've suffered a few defeats. Maybe it's because they're still trying out different combinations," he added.
The Star
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Hitting the right notes
National women's doubles shuttler Pearly Tan (left) helping her partner M. Thinaah who fell down while against China's Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian in the semi-final match of Malaysian Masters at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil on Saturday. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star PETALING JAYA: Women's doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah are slowly becoming a more complete pair. This is national doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky's assessment following the duo's recent fine form. Pearly-Thinaah rose to a career high No. 3 in the world after reaching their first ever World Tour Super 1000 final in the Indonesian Open in Jakarta earlier this month. Although the pair missed out on the title, they pushed China's world No. 1 Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning all the way before losing narrowly in three games. Pearly-Thinaah also captured their first title of the year in the Super 500 Thailand Open last month. Rexy believes the pair are becoming more all-rounded and hopes they can maintain their form. 'In doubles, we need a creator and a killer but you cannot train only for that. We also have to compete with opponents in midcourt and rear court. The rear court person should be able to play at the net, (and vice-versa), that makes it more enjoyable,' said Rexy in a recent interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF). 'I can see they are getting there. It started early this year, they got better in the Indian Open, the Indonesian Masters, All-England, Thailand Open and Malaysian Masters. The big factor is they know themselves, their ability. 'A change happened when Pearly twisted her ankle at the All-England, and you could see Thinaah boosting her confidence. 'They have the feeling, they only need to get consistent in every tournament.' Pearly-Thinaah have been more consistent this year after previously going through ups and downs. The pair have reached at least the quarter-finals in all their competitions so far this year except in the Malaysian Open and Asian Championships where they suffered first-round exits. Pearly-Thinaah made it into the last four in the Indian Open and Malaysian Masters and finished runners-up in the Indonesian Masters. The pair's improvement is timely with the prestigious World Championships just two months away from Aug 25-31 in Paris. Before the world meet, Pearly-Thinaah will be looking to continue their good form in the Japan Open from July 15-20 and China Open from July 22-27.
The Star
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Pearly-Thinaah on the way to becoming an all-rounded pair
PETALING JAYA: Women's doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah are slowly becoming a more complete pair. This is national doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky's assessment following the duo's recent fine form. Pearly-Thinaah rose to a career high No. 3 in the world after reaching their first ever World Tour Super 1000 final in the Indonesian Open in Jakarta earlier this month. Although the pair missed out on the title, they pushed China's world No. 1 Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning all the way before losing narrowly in three games. Pearly-Thinaah also captured their first title of the year in the Super 500 Thailand Open last month. Rexy believes the pair are becoming more all-rounded and hopes they can maintain their form. "In doubles, we need a creator and a killer but you cannot train only for that. We also have to compete with opponents in midcourt and rear court. The rear court person should be able to play at the net, (and vice-versa), that makes it more enjoyable," said Rexy in a recent interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF). "I can see they are getting there. It started early this year, they got better in the Indian Open, the Indonesian Masters, All England, Thailand Open and Malaysian Masters. The big factor is they know themselves, their ability. "A change happened when Pearly twisted her ankle at the All England, and you could see Thinaah boosting her confidence. "They have the feeling, they only need to get consistent in every tournament." Pearly-Thinaah have been more consistent this year after previously going through ups and downs. The pair have reached at least the quarter-finals in all their competitions so far this year except in the Malaysian Open and Asian Championships where they suffered first-round exits. Pearly-Thinaah made it into the last four in the Indian Open and Malaysian Masters and finished runners-up in the Indonesian Masters. The pair's improvement is timely with the prestigious World Championships just two months away from Aug 25-31 in Paris. Before the world meet, Pearly-Thinaah will be looking to continue their good form in the Japan Open from July 15-20 and China Open from July 22-27.
The Star
21-06-2025
- Sport
- The Star
No slowing down
Full steam ahead: Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun hope to build on their performances to achieve better results. PETALING JAYA: A more confident men doubles shuttlers Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun are looking to build on their encouraging performances in the second half of the year by reaching the top five in the world. The world No. 7 Wei Chong-Kai Wun already have two titles to their name so far this year – the World Tour Super 500 Indonesian Masters in January and Malaysian Masters last month. The victories have raised the self-belief in them and showed they were no longer dogged by inconsistency as seen over the past few years. 'We are doing better than we had in the last few years. We need to build on our performances,' said Kai Wun. Wei Chong-Kai Wun, who tend to slow down and suffer early round exits in the past after winning a title, did not let up this time following their triumph in the home Masters and went on to reach the quarter-finals in the Singapore Open and last four in the Indonesian Open earlier this month. Now, the duo are eyeing for glory in the Japan Open from July 15-20 and China Open from July 22-27. 'We cannot afford to slow down again in Japan and China. We have one month to prepare for these two tournaments and we have been going through intense training. 'Our focus is on working on our weaknesses that we could see in our last few tournaments.' Wei Chong-Kai Wun's growing confidence also stems from breakthrough wins over Japan's 2021 world champions Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi and India's 2022 Asian Games gold medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty in the Malaysian Masters semi-finals and Indonesian Open second round respectively. The Malaysians previously lost twice to Hoki-Kobayashi and four times to the Indians before coming up with the formula to finally defeat their opponents. 'Finding a way to beat these pairs is good for us as we lost to them many times before this,' said Kai Wun. 'We have showed that we have the quality to beat these pairs and now it's about being consistent.' On their next targets, Kai Wun said: 'We are aiming to break into the top five in the world and win Super 750 and 1000 titles. 'We have never done these before, so we want to go all out to achieve these.'
The Star
13-06-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Hoo knows how to regain form – just add more spice in game
PETALING JAYA: National mixed doubles shuttler Hoo Pang Ron wants to keep his opponents on their toes by adding variety in his game. The 27-year-old admitted that he and doubles partner Cheng Su Yin aren't satisfied with their recent performances, and believes their gameplay tactics have been recognised by their opponents. Pang Ron says their game have become predictable. 'I'm really not satisfied with my performance. It has dropped since last year's China Masters final. Maybe a lot of players are starting to understand our game,' said Pang Ron when met at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) yesterday. 'So we have been trying to improve on this with our coach. We need more variations of gameplay.' The world No. 13 pair did well to reach the China Masters final last November before falling to home ground players Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping. Since then, the pair have suffered early round exits and this year, they only made it to the Indonesian Masters and Orleans Masters quarter-finals, and German Open second round. Their last three outings at the All-England, Asian Championships, and Thailand Open all ended after their first match. There is some good news though. Pang Ron said his hamstring injury sustained during the Thailand Open has been recovering well, and there was no rush to get back on court just yet. 'I'm recovering and coming back slowly because there's no rush. There's no point aggravating it further,' said Pang Ron. 'I felt pain during the Thailand Open, and the doctors have advised me to rest. And its good as it gives me and Su Yin the chance to refresh ourselves. 'We haven't been winning for some time, and mentally we are down as well. So hopefully we can bounce back next month,' he said. Added with Su Yin's ankle injury that forced them to withdraw from the Malaysian Masters last month, Pang Ron said it remains to be seen if they will be competing at the Japan Open from July 15-20.
