Latest news with #WorldTour
New Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Malaysian shuttlers eye historic double world titles in Paris
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia could be in for a bumper outing at next month's Badminton World Championships in Paris — with not one but two world titles within reach, based on current form and World Tour stats. In men's doubles, world No. 2 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik are leading the charge. The 2022 world champions have consistently delivered at major events since their Olympic bronze in Tokyo, and remain Malaysia's best hope of striking gold again. But there's excitement brewing on the women's front too. Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah, the new world No. 2 pair, have been gathering serious momentum. The Thailand Open champions — who also finished runners-up in Indonesia and Japan, and made the China Open semis — are now poised to break China's long-standing grip on the women's doubles crown. Should they succeed, Pearly-Thinaah will carve their names in history as Malaysia's first women's doubles world champions. It won't be a solo mission in the men's doubles either. Malaysia also boast depth, with world No. 4 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin and world No. 7 Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun adding firepower. Between the three pairs, they've already shared six titles this season — Aaron-Wooi Yik with three, Wei Chong-Kai Wun two, and Sze Fei-Izzuddin one. All three pairings have reached at least one final in each of their last seven tournaments — a testament to their consistency and hunger. Their biggest obstacle? The in-form world No. 1 Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae of South Korea, who have bagged five titles this year. But with no strong second pair in sight, the pressure could mount for the Koreans in the French capital. Malaysia, on the other hand, hold an ace — coaching maestro Herry IP. Dubbed the "Magician", the legendary Indonesian has produced multiple world champions and now heads Malaysia's doubles project at BAM. Still, there are questions after Aaron-Wooi Yik's shock loss to scratch Indonesian duo Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri in Sunday's China Open final. But it's not unusual for top pairs to ease off slightly before a major. A win in China may have only added pressure ahead of Paris. As it stands, mind games are in full swing, and Aaron-Wooi Yik will lean on Herry's calming influence and his famed "no lifting" mantra to stay grounded. In women's doubles, Pearly-Thinaah are flying under the radar — and that may work to their advantage. They'll head to Paris as second seeds, avoiding a clash with world No. 1 Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning until the final. But the odds aren't all in their favour — they trail Sheng Shu-Tan Ning 9-3 in past meetings, and also have a 4-1 deficit against world No. 6 Jia Yi Fan-Zhang Shu Xian. Still, with the right mindset and peak fitness, Pearly-Thinaah could whip up a storm in Paris and lead Malaysia to a historic breakthrough on the women's front.
The Star
5 hours ago
- Sport
- The Star
Yew Sin-Ee Yi suffer early exit in Macau
PETALING JAYA: Men's doubles shuttlers Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi's recent run of good results came to a halt after the pair crashed out of the Macau Open. Yew Sin-Ee Yi were hoping to continue their encouraging form after making it into the semi-finals and quarter-finals of the Japan Open and China Open respectively over the past two weeks but were left disappointed after narrowly going down 15-21, 21-16, 21-23 to Indonesia's Rahmat Hidayat-Yeremia Rambitan in the first round at the Macau East Asian Games Dome yesterday. It was also heartbreak for world junior champions Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing after the duo lost 17-21, 16-21 to another Indonesian pair and top seeds Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza. There were better fortunes though for Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi when they defeated China's Ren Xiangyu-Sun Wenjun 21-15, 21-16. Meanwhile, in the women's doubles, Teoh Mei Xing-Go Pei Kee easily overcame India's Apoorva Gahlawat-Sakshi Gahlawat 21-8, 21-11 and will take on the winners of the all-Taiwanese clash between Lin Chih-chun-Lin Wan-ching and Chen Yu-hsuen-Liu Chiao-yun next. Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting, though, suffered an early exit after losing 13-21, 11-21 to Americans Lauren Lam-Allison Lee. Promising youngsters Dania Sofea Zaidi-Low Zi Yu also made a good start in their World Tour debut by making it into the main draw after beating Taiwan's Chou Yun-an-Huang Le Xin 21-17, 21-17 in the qualifying round. Dania-Zi Yu showed great resilience by bouncing back quickly after their disappointing quarter-final exit in the recent Asian Junior Championships in Solo, Indonesia. 'We are very excited to compete in our first World Tour competition,' said Dania. 'We never expected to qualify for this tournament as our rankings are still quite low. So, we are looking forward to playing against higher ranked pairs in the main draw.' Dania-Zi Yu are currently ranked 211th in the world and have a tougher task in the first round against Japan's world No. 63 Kaho Osawa-Mai Tanabe. Joining them in the main draw are Cheng Su Hui-Tan Zhing Yi, who had to dig deep to come away with a 21-14, 15-21, 21-15 win over Japan's Ririna Hiramoto-Kokona Ishikawa. Su Hui-Zhing Yi will next face Taiwan's Chen Su-yu-Hsieh Yi-en for a place in the quarter-finals. In the mixed doubles, Wee Yee Hern-Chan Wen Tse set-up an all-Malaysian first round clash against Loo Bing Kun-Pei Kee after coming out on top over Taiwan's Cheng Kai-wen-Liu Chiao-yun 21-8, 17-21, 21-17 in the qualifying round. RESULTS ( Malaysians Only ) Qualifying round Women's doubles: Dania Sofea Zaidi-Low Zi Yu bt Chou Yun-anHuang (Tpe) Le Xin 21-17, 21-17; Cheng Su Hui-Tan Zhing Yi bt Ririna Hiramoto-Kokona Ishikawa (Jpn) 21-14, 15-21, 21-15. Mixed doubles: Wee Yee Hern-Chan Wen Tse bt Cheng Kai-wen-Liu Chiao-yun (Tpe) 21-8, 17-21, 21-17. First round Men's doubles: Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi bt Ren XiangyuSun Wenjun (Chn) 21-15, 21-16; Rahmat Hidayat-Yeremia Rambitan (Ina) bt Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi 21-15, 16-21, 23-21, Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza (Ina) bt Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing 21-17, 21-16. Women's doubles: Teoh Mei Xing-Go Pei Kee bt Apoorva Gahlawat-Sakshi Gahlawat (Ind) 21-8, 21-11; Lauren Lam-Allison Lee (US) bt Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting 21-13, 21-11
Irish Independent
10 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Paul McGinley tees off with Donald Trump as US President opens new course in Scotland
The former European Ryder Cup captain and ex-DP World Tour board member joined the US President, his son Eric and his Sky Sports Golf colleague Rich Beem in hitting the opening tee shots on the New Course in Menie. More than 40 big names in the golf business world, as well as former footballers Robbie Fowler, Jim Leighton, Gianfranco Zola, and Andrei Shevchenko, teed it up at the venue, which is one of 15 Trump golf properties. McGinley recently expressed his disappointment that Trump-owned Turnberry is currently out in the cold when it comes to The Open rota. Speaking on the Indo Sport Podcast, McGinley said: "I think the best course is Turnberry and I think it's a real shame that we're not playing it." He added: "I know people have a lot of views on Trump, but I'll tell you what, he's done a hell of a job with the work he has done in Turnberry." Trump also owns Doonbeg, which is just 20 miles from Lahinch, where McGinley was host when it staged the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in 2019. The Clare venue is understood to be on track to host the Amgen Irish Open next year. US pharmaceutical giants Horizon Therapeutics took over as Irish Open sponsors in 2022 with a deal to back the event until 2027. Horizon was subsequently acquired by Amgen, an American multinational biopharmaceutical company, in 2023. Amgen, which has major pharmaceutical manufacturing plants in Ireland, took over the sponsorship of the Irish Open, which will be held at The K Club in September. Golfers Pádraig Harrington, Shane Lowry, Séamus Power and Brendan Lawlor are ambassadors for Amgen, which could be seriously affected by President Trump's trade war. As the Irish Independent reported this week, there is confusion in Government and the EU about what products will be covered by the baseline 15pc tariff, which activates on Friday following the US trade deal. It is still unclear if pharmaceuticals, which are critical to the Irish economy, will be included in the 15pc bracket or if they could yet be hit with a higher levy.
News18
10 hours ago
- Business
- News18
Trump Opened A New 18-hole Golf Course At His Sprawling Aberdeen Property On July 29th
President Donald Trump continued his Profit-Off-The-Presidency World Tour this week with a stop in Scotland, where he opened a new private golf course. You, dear taxpayer, footed the bill for most of the trip. News18 Mobile App -
New Straits Times
14 hours ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Sheng Hao-Wei Jie stun Japanese pair at Macau Open
KUALA LUMPUR: Ten months since they made their partnership debut at the Macau Open, professional duo Lwi Sheng Hao-Chia Wei Jie came full circle on Tuesday with a breakthrough performance at the same tournament. The world No. 69, both former BA of Malaysia (BAM) dropouts, pulled off a stunning 21-19, 21-19 win over Japan's seventh seeds and world No. 32 Takumi Nomura-Yuichi Shimogami in the opening round of the Super 300 event. What made the win even sweeter was the fact that Nomura-Shimogami are Japan's third-highest ranked men's doubles pair — underlining the scale of the upset and signalling a strong statement of intent from Sheng Hao-Wei Jie, who have struggled for consistency since turning pro although they did claim a Super 100 title at Guwahati Masters in December last year. Their next challenge will be Hong Kong's Hung Kuei Chun-Lui Chun Wai as they bid to string together back-to-back main draw victories on the World Tour for only the second time this season. Also through to the second round were fourth seeds Wan Arif Junaidi-Yap Roy King, who brushed aside China's Ren Xiang Yu-Sun Wen Jun 21-15, 21-16, and Choong Hon Jian-Haikal Nazri, comfortable 21-15, 21-14 winners over Singapore's Wesley Koh-Junsuke Kubo. However, it was an early exit for Bryan Jeremy Goonting-Fazriq Razif and Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong. Bryan-Fazriq went down fighting 21-11, 22-20 to Indonesia's Muh Putra Erwiansyah-Daniel Edgar Marvino, while Hang Yee-Eng Cheong were outplayed by second seeds and former world No. 1 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty of India 21-13, 21-15. Veteran Goh V Shem, teaming up with South Korea's Choi Sol Gyu, kept his campaign alive with a convincing 21-15, 21-16 victory over Taiwan's Su Ching Heng-Wu Guan Xun. In the women's doubles, Go Pei Kee-Teoh Mei Xing celebrated their entry into the world's top 20 earlier in the day with a dominant 21-8, 21-11 win over India's Apoorva Gahlawat-Sakshi Gahlawat. The pair had climbed four rungs to No. 18 in the latest rankings, courtesy of their quarter-final run at last week's China Open.
