The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Wei Feng stuns Boonsak as other Malaysians fall by the wayside
- Nafiizwan soars as Beng Hee crashes in first round
- Joo Ven heading in the right direction
| Wei Feng stuns Boonsak as other Malaysians fall by the wayside Posted: 12 Sep 2012 04:35 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: National back-up shuttler Chong Wei Feng pulled off a stunning win over world No. 26 Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand in the first round of the China Masters in Changzhou. Wei Feng, however, had to battle back from a game down to beat the Thai 11-21, 21-16, 21-12 to set up a second round meeting against seventh seed Wang Zhengming of China. It will be interesting to see what the 25-year-old Wei Feng has up his sleeves against the world No. 16 Zhengming, who came out triumphant when the two met in the quarter-finals of the Singapore Open in June. Wei Feng was the only saving grace for Malaysia yesterday as the others – men's singles players Liew Daren and Mohd Hafiz Hashim and men's doubles back-up pair Chan Peng Soon-Ong Jian Guo crashed out in the opening round. Also ousted were two seeded players – Japan's Kenichi Tago and Dane Jan O Jorgensen. World No. 28 Daren, touted as a potential replacement for Lee Chong Wei, blamed nerves for his 19-21, 21-17, 21-12 loss to India's world No. 40 Sourabh Varma. The 25-year-old, who has been working on his fitness since returning from London where he was chosen as a sparring partner for Chong Wei, simply put it down to his lack of matches played in the lead up to the tournament. "I think nerves had a bit to do with it. This was my first tournament after three months ... so I was a little rusty. I couldn't really get the tournament buzz," said the 25-year-old Daren, who has been working on his fitness since returning from London. "I'm very disappointed. I should have won. I won the first game and was up 14-9 in the second. Suddenly I became jittery," said Daren. "I just became too eager to win and my game plan went out of the window. When Sourabh won the second game, my confidence level dropped a notch and I couldn't find a way back." Like Daren, Hafiz also toiled for an hour before finally succumbing to another India player, V. Gurusaidutt, 21-18, 19-21, 21-13. Peng Soon-Jian Guo were sent packing by Thailand's Songphon Anugritayawon-Sudket Prapakamol 21-18, 21-18. First round results Men's singles: Chen Long (Chn) bt Viktor Axelsen (Den) 20-22, 21-7, 21-8; Wang Zhengming Chn) bt Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk (Tha) 21-11, retired; Chen Jin (Chn) bt Anand Pawar (Ind) 21-17, 21-12; V. Gurusaidutt (Ind) bt Hafiz Hashim (Mas) 21-18, 19-21, 21-13; Du Pengyu (Chn) bt Takuma Ueda (Jpn) 21-14, 15-21, 21-11, Hsu Jen Hao (Tpe) bt Jan O Jorgensen (Den) 21-13, 14-21, 21-19; Hu Yun (Chn) bt Chou Tien Chen (Tpe) 21-19, 21-18; Ajay Jayaram (Ind) bt Kenichi Tago (Jpn) 21-13, 21-17; Derek Wong (Sin) bt Wong Wing Ki (Hkg) 21-17, 11-21, 21-19; Zhou Wenlong (Chn) bt Brice Leverdez (Fra) 21-10, 21-16; Kashyap Parupalli (Ind) bt Gao Huan 21-13, 14-21, 21-19; Misha Zilberman (Isr) bt Scott Evans (Irl) 24-22, 21-17; Chong Wei Feng (Mas) bt Boonsak Ponsana (Tha) 11-21, 21-16, 21-12; Sourabh Varma (Ind) bt Liew Daren (Mas) 19-21, 21-17, 21-12; Qiao Bin (Chn) by Chen Yuekun (Chn) 21-10, 21-8; Hans-Kristian Vittinghus (Den) bt Ashton Chen (Sin) 21-17, 21-19. Men's doubles: Li Gen- Liu Cheng (Chn) bt Phillip Chew-Sattawat Pongnairat (US) 21-14, 17-21, 21-8; Rasmus Bonde-Mads Conrad-Petersen (Den) bt Tarun Kona-Arun Vishnu (Ind) 18-21, 21-12, 21-19; Songphon Anugritayawon-Sudket Prapakamol (Tha) bt Chan Peng Soon-Ong Jian Guo (Mas) 21-18, 21-18; Patiphat Chalardchaleam-Nipitphon Puangpuapech (Tha) bt Pranaav Jerry Chopra-Akshay Dewalkar (Ind) 21-11, 17-21, 21-18. Women's singles: Minatsu Mitani (Jpn) bt Wang Lin (Chn) 22-20, 21-17; Busanan Ongbumrungpan (Tha) bt Chen Xiao Jia (Chn) 14-21, 21-15, 22-20; Sapsiree Taerattanachai (Tha) bt Kaori Imabeppu (Jpn) 21-15, 21-17; Eriko Hirose (Jpn) bt Han Li (Chn) retired; Nozomi Okuhara (Jpn) bt Yao Xue (Chn) 13-21, 21-10, 21-11; V. Sindhu (Ind) bt Jamie Subandhi (US) 21-15, 21-12. |
| Nafiizwan soars as Beng Hee crashes in first round Posted: 12 Sep 2012 04:33 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: National No. 2 Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan produced a stunning effort to rally from two sets down to beat fourth seed Adrian Grant 9-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-4, 13-11 and earn a place in the quarter-finals. It was also the saving grace for the Malaysian men as veteran Ong Beng Hee had earlier crashed out. If Nafiizwan had lost, it would be the first time that Malaysia will not have a representative in the quarter-finals since 1995. But the day certainly belonged to the 26-year-old Nafiizwan, who looked dead and buried after losing the first two sets 9-11, 5-11. The gritty Terengganu-born player then fought back to take the third and fourth sets 11-9, 11-4. The world No. 33 nearly blew it in the deciding fifth set after throwing away a 10-7 lead to hand Grant an 11-10 lead. The 31-year-old Englishman, however, failed to finish off the match when he hit the ball into the tin. Nafiizwan took advantage of his misfortune to nail a gruelling 96-minute match 13-11. "I got off to a very slow start and at two sets down I just told myself to go all out and take it like a training match, but at higher intensity," said Nafiizwan. "I slowly got back my confidence and managed to stick to my game plan." Earlier, the 32-year-old Beng Hee was totally out of sorts as he crashed to a 2-11, 5-11, 2-11 loss to Swiss Nicolas Mueller in just 25 minutes. "It was a very bad day and I couldn't get my game going at all," said Beng Hee. "Credit to Nicolas ... he played really well. It's disappointing for me after such a good week in the national championships last week." The biggest upset of the day, however, was provided by the immensely talented Abdullah Al Muzayen after the little known player from Kuwait recorded a 6-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-8 win over third seed and KL Open champion Omar Mosaad of Egypt. |
| Joo Ven heading in the right direction Posted: 12 Sep 2012 06:38 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: Second seed Soong Joo Ven is a "One Directioner" and he's hoping he can channel all his efforts in one direction and win the boys' singles title in Maybank Malaysia International Youth Under-19 championships. Joo Ven finished second at the Asia Youth Championships in South Korea in July and is counting on making amends by winning on home soil. So before every match, Joo Ven, like most athletes who are notoriously superstitious, observes a pre-match ritual of walking about the arena listening to his Ipod. "Yeah ... it's not so much superstition but it's just a ritual that I go through. It gives me something to do before I play my matches. It keeps me calm and helps take the pressure off," said Joo Ven at the Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara. While music is known to help calm the nerves, Joo Ven is not shy to say that he's a big fan of the British-Irish boy band who found fame on the UK version of X-Factor. "I like to listen to pop songs. I'm a big fan of One Direction and I love their song What Makes You Beautiful. But I also like to listen to other radio-friendly hits," he said. Joo Ven kept the Malaysian flag flying on day two of the tournament as he beat Indonesia's Andrew Susanto 21-12, 21-16. "My second round opponent was a bit tricky, especially in the second set when we started playing more dangerous shots. But I'm happy to come away with a win," said the 17-year-old who will be be sitting for his Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination soon. He faces 10th seed Pannawit Thongnuam of Thailand in the third round today. "Thai players, no matter how they rank, are always tricky to play against. I expect it to be a really tough match. But I will try and do my best to win," he said. In the girls' singles competition, second seed Lim Yin Fun, who is being coached by former international Wong Mew Choo, made short work of her opponent Deline Quek. The 18-year-old Yin Fun cruised to a comfortable 21-7, 21-8 victory over the Singaporean. Meanwhile, 14 year-old Thinaah Muralitharan of Selangor was the surprise package of the day as she beat sixth seed Sarita Suwannakitborihan of Thailand 21-19, 21-16 in the girls' singles to set up a third round meeting with South Korea's Lee Sun-min. Second round results (Malaysians unless stated) Boys' singles: Khosit Phetpradab (Tha) bt Lee Kwan Ting (Sin) 21-8, 21-12; Soo Zhi Teck bt Apisit Saetiaw (Tha) 16-21, 21-16, 21-14; Tan Kian Meng bt Siriwut Kitjakarndetwut (Tha) 21-8, 21-9; Ng Ka Long (Hkg) bt Ikmal Hussain 21-7, 21-11; Tan Teck Han bt Guo Zheng Sim 21-13, 21-18; Lim Chi Wing bt Wibowo Henrikho (Ina) 21-14, 21-12; Ihsan Maulana (Ina) bt Lee Jia Zii 21-10, 21-15; Chong Yee Han bt Tan Jinn Hwa 21-12, 21-16; Choi Kyu-sol (Kor) bt Shahrul Shazwan 21-9, 21-19; Jae Wook-jung (Kor) bt Teoh Khai Siang 21-14, 21-6; Sitthikom Thammasin (Tha) bt Muhd Ardianto (Ina) 21-15, 21-13; Tan Jia Wei bt Yan Ming Shun (Sin) 19-21, 21-13, 21-17; Hyuk Jin-jeon (Kor) bt Namkul adulrach (Tha) 21-17, 21-9; Pannawit Thongnuam (Tha) bt Eka Fajar Kusuma (Ina) 21-17, 21-17; Soong Joo Ven bt Andrew Susanto (Ina) 21-12, 21-16. Boys' doubles: Arya Maulana Adiartama-Edi Subaktiar (Ina) bt Lee Jian Yi-Woon Mun Choon 21-7, 21-16; Rafiddias Akhdan Nugroho-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (Ina) bt Ahmad Maziri Mazlan-Nik Ahmad Azfar Nik Mazlan 21-12, 21-12; Jeon Hyuk-jin Seo Seung-jae (Kor) bt Eric Jong-Ng Di Hua 21-13, 21-14; Jia Huo Chen-Goh Sze Fei bt Lee Zii Jia- Soh Wooi Yik 21-12, 21-16; Yantoni Edy Saputra-Tedi Supriadi (Ina) bt Ku Meng Soon-Wong Yew Haw 21-16, 21-10; Phutthaporn Bowornwatanuwong-Matee Vejjanughara (Tha) bt Mohd Qusyairi Sazali- Mohd Nur Syazwansyah Suriansa 21-16, 21-13; Lee Chung Hei-Ng Ka Long (Hkg) bt Muhd Asraf Bin Ishak-Sean Lee (Sin) 21-12, 21-13; Choi Sol-kyu Park Se-woong (Kor) bt Eka Fajar Kusuma-Rian Swastedian (Ina) 21-12, 21-14; Ayoda Lutfi Amroyni-Mukti Rahman Sutrisno (Ina) bt Heo Kwang-hee-Jung Jae-wook (Kor) 21-18, 21-16; Tai An Khang-Tan Wee Gieen bt R. Sathiestharan-Tan Teck Han 21-7, 21-11; Darren Isaac Deva Dass-Ong Yew Sin bt Kittinupong Kedren-Dechapol Puavaranukroh (Tha) 21-17, 21-11; Dede Ryan Philip-Marcel Simon bt Muhammad Rian Ardianto-Clinton Hendrik Kudamassa (Ina) 21-16, 25-27, 21-19; Kim Jae-hwan-Kim Jung-ho (Kor) bt Nur Izzuddin Rumsani-Chun Kang Shia 21-7, 21-15; Hafiz Faizal-Putra Eka Rhoma (Ina) bt Tan Zi Jian-Leslie Pang (Sin) 21-16, 21-9; Aldo Abdillah Harsono-Muhd Alfian Firsada Terna Sangaji (Ina) bt Misfahul Muneer Eizlan Shah-Tan Kiang Weng 21-18, 21-8; Arsya Isnanu Ardi Putra-Hantoro Hantoro (Ina) bt Worachard Kertsripan-Siriwut Kitjakarndetwut (Tha) 21-17, 21-15. Girls' singles: Liang Xiaoyu (Sin) bt Ho Mei Yen 21-10, 17-21, 21-19; K. Bhirentha bt Ivy Ng 21-12, 21-9; Saengchote Natcha (Tha) bt Ting Yao Tee 21-14, 21-15; Kim Hyo-min (Kor) bt Yee Yap 21-12, 21-8; Cheung Mei Ying (Hkg) bt Yap Rui 21-16, 19-21, 21-18; M. Thinaah bt Sarita Suwannakitborihan (Tha) 21-19, 21-16; Sylvia Kavita Kumares bt Pui Yee Eng 21-10, 21-12; Ruselli Hartawan (Ina) bt Tong Xin Lee 21-10, 24-22; Pornpawee Chochuwong (Tha) bt Bae Ji-won (Kor) 21-11, 21-8; Yin Lim Fun Lim bt Deline Quek (Sin) 21-7, 21-8; Sun Lee-min (Kor) bt Jia Jia Tew 21-8, 21-10; S. Kisona bt Ninna Tan (Sin) 21-11, 21-7; Natcha Wongchanachart (Tha) bt Anna Cheong 21-18, 21-10; Zii Yii Lee bt Chiew Sien Lim 20-22, 21-18, 21-19; Ji Lee-min (Kor) bt Alisa Sapniti (Tha) 21-15, 21-15; Lee Ying Ying bt Ruethaichanok Laisuan (Tha) 21-9, 4-0 rtd. Girls' doubles: Cheah Yee See-Chin Kah Mun bt Pacharapun Chochuwong-Chanisa Teachavorasinskun (Tha) 14-21, 21-16, 21-19; Chae Yoo-jung Kim Ji-won (Kor) bt Goh Yea Ching-Raja Nurnina Qamarina Raja Azlan 21-12, 21-8; Karnjanavadee Bunsomboon-Ruethaichanok Laisuan (Tha) bt Adlina Abdul Wahab-Grace Marie Peter 21-13, 21-17; Joyce Choong-Yap Cheng Wen bt Desaula Gendy-Masita Mahmudin (Ina) 21-7, 21-14; Bae Ji-won-Lee Min-ji (Kor) bt Anna Cheong-Ooi Shi Han 21-14, 21-13; Deline Quek-Tan Ai Ninna (Sin) w.o. Norshahida Baharum-Ti Wei Chyi; Ni Ketut Mahadewi-Ila Alvionitasari Putri (Ina) bt Eng Pui Yee-Thinaah Muralitharan 21-16, 11-21, 21-15; Pornpawee Chochuwong-Alisa Sapniti (Tha) bt Lee Ying Ying-Yap Yee 21-14, 20-22, 21-18. |
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