The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Wei Feng brushes aside world No. 7 Kashyap to enter last eight of Swiss Open GP Gold
- Rashid: Daren still has a long way to go
- Rachel chalks up another major win en route to final of NSC Series No. 1 championships
| Wei Feng brushes aside world No. 7 Kashyap to enter last eight of Swiss Open GP Gold Posted: 14 Mar 2013 04:45 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: National elite shuttler Chong Wei Feng provided some joy at the Swiss Open GP Gold with a stunning performance to beat world No. 7 P. Kashyap of India in Basel yesterday. Wei Feng who had earlier brushed aside Germany's Marcel Reuter in the second round, came back strongly against the fifth seed, rallying from a game down to win 18-21, 21-7, 21-16 in the third round. Yesterday's win was a small measure of redemption following Wei Feng's poor showing at the All England last week. The Kedahan, who is after his first GP Gold title, will face either fourth seed Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark or Hong Kong's Wong Wing Ki in the quarter-finals today. Another singles shuttler, Mohd Arif Abdul Latif, will take on Japan's Takuma Ueda in his bid to make the last eight. In men's doubles, the chase to become Malaysia's third ranked pair and a spot in the World Championships in August, intensified with all three pairs – Goh V Shem-Lim Khim Wah, Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari and Gan Teik Chai-Ong Soon Hock – making it to the second round on Wednesday. Malaysia can have three pairs for the world meet if all three are ranked in the top 24. World No. 2 Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong and world No. 10 Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong are virtually assured of their place. Currently world No.15 V Shem-Khim Wah are in the driving seat, having beaten Japan's Hiroyuki Saeki-Ryota Taohata in the second round at Basel, followed by the professional pairs of Zakry-Fairuzizuan (No. 18) and Teik Chai-Soon Hock (No. 19). However, national doubles head coach Tan Kim Her believes that V Shem-Khim Wah still have a tough fight on their hands especially after their opening round defeat at the All England. "For me, I think V Shem-Khim Wah wasted their chances after that early exit in Birmingham," said Kim Her. "We will be fair on the professional pairs and only the top three based on rankings will go to the World Championship. "At this point, Zakry-Fairuzizuan, who reached the quarter-finals at the All England have a better chance of overtaking V Shem-Khim Wah," added Kim Her. In women's doubles, the fortunes of Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei just got better after pulling off an upset over seventh seeds Anneke Feinya Agustin-Nitya Krishinda Maheshwari of Indonesia in the first round. They won 21-15, 20-22, 21-7 and will face Dutch duo Selena Piek-Iris Tabeling for a quarter-final spot. Results (Malaysians only) First round Men's doubles: Goh V Shem-Lim Khim Wah bt Kang Ji-wook- Lee Sang-joon (Kor) 13-21, 21-14, 21-17; Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif- Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari bt Ingo Kindervater-Johannes Schoettler (Ger) 21-19, 12-21, 21-17; Gan Teik Chai-Ong Soon Hock bt Chris Langridge-Peter Mills (Eng) 16-21, 21-14, 24-22. Women's singles: Lydia Cheah bt Nicole Grether (Can) 25- 23, 21-9. Women's doubles: Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei bt Anneke Feinya Agustin-Nitya Krishinda Maheshwari (Ina) 21-15, 20-22, 21-7. Second round Men's singles: Chong Wei Feng bt Marcel Reuter (Ger) 21-14, 21-17; Jan O Jorgensen (Den) bt Zulfaldi Zulkiffli 21-15, 21-11. Men's Doubles: Goh V Shem-Lim Khim Wah bt Hiroyuki Saeki-Ryota Taohata (Jpn) 21-13, 21-17. Women's singles: Juliane Schenk (Ger) bt Lydia Cheah 21-13, 13-21, 21-13. Third round Men's singles: Chong Wei Feng bt P. Kashyap (Ind) 18-21, 21-7, 21-16. |
| Rashid: Daren still has a long way to go Posted: 14 Mar 2013 04:42 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: National singles head coach Rashid Sidek is not happy with shuttler Liew Daren's (pic) recent performances and has urged the world No. 13 to keep his head down and work hard in order to become a better player. Despite reaching the quarter-finals of the Malaysian Open in January, Daren suffered an opening round defeat at the All-England last week. On Wednesday, the 26-year-old was once again uninspiring, falling to compatriot Mohd Arif Abdul Latif 15-21, 17-21 in the second round of the ongoing Swiss Open GP Gold. It was Daren's second defeat to Arif in the international scene and Rashid has warned that the former still has a long way to go before he can become a quality shuttler. He was ranked world No. 10 recently, but has now dropped to 13th spot. "Daren's recent performances have not been good at all, especially with that latest defeat to Arif," said Rashid. "He still has a lot to learn and he needs to improve the quality of his play. "Although his ranking is high, his play suggests that he is not matured enough to take on opponents who have an extra trick up their sleeve. "But there's still hope for him because I believe he has what it takes to go up. "He must, however, be aware of his flaws and give more attention to his training and work extra hard in order to follow in the footsteps of (Lee) Chong Wei," added Rashid. Meanwhile, the lack of quality singles shuttlers in Malaysia was apparent as KLRC's Zulfadli Zulkiffli and Nusa Mahsuri's Misbun Ramdan Misbun both failed to get past the second round in Basel. |
| Rachel chalks up another major win en route to final of NSC Series No. 1 championships Posted: 14 Mar 2013 04:36 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: Rachel Arnold continued her giant-killing feat to storm into the final of the NSC Series No. 1 Squash Championships at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil yesterday. The 16-year-old qualifier firmly held her own against Lisa Camilleri of Australia to record an 11-9, 11-3, 11-6 win in the semi-finals. With yesterday's win, Rachel has achieved her first ever final appearance in a Women's Squash Association (WSA) tournament. And she could well be on the way to become only the second youngest Malaysian woman to win a title after world No. 1 Nicol David, if she gets the better of Denmark's Line Hansen in today's final. Top seed Hansen proved too strong for Egypt's Nouran El Torky, winning 11-6, 11-3, 13-11 in the other semi-final. Rachel, however, did not start well against Camilleri, a former world No. 28 who is making a comeback after 17 months on the sidelines due to a foot injury. The Malaysian looked lost in the early stages and trailed 3-9 at one point. But she snapped out of the slump and reeled in eight straight points to take the first set. It was all Rachel in the second set and despite a stiffer resistance from Camilleri in the third, it was a comfortable win for the Bukit Jalil Sports School student. "This is my first WSA final and this is really an unbelievable feeling," said a delighted Rachel. "I was just trying to play my best and go all out. This tournament has really been a pleasant surprise for me because I was never expected to reach the final. "Getting through to the main draw was my initial target. "But having beaten Siti (Munirah Jusoh) in the first round, my confidence grew and I started to play better too. I've not really thought about winning but I do know it took my sister awhile before winning her first title. I would like to get one over her though," joked Rachel. Delia is Rachel's older sister and is currently the third ranked player in the country. Meanwhile, in the men's event, top seed Ivan Yuen had to dig deep into his reserves to come back from two sets down before beating compatriot Elvinn Keo 11-13, 11-13, 11-8,11-3, 11-6. "I had a terribly slow start, especially in the first two sets while everything Elvinn hit went it," said Ivan. "But after losing two sets, I just told myself to forget about the pressure and go all out and it worked. Hopefully, I'll perform better in the final and give my opponent a real fight ... although I've never seen him prior to this tournament," added Ivan, who will take on Egypt's Ahmed Abdel Fattah for the title. Results Semi-finals Men: Ahmed Abdel Fattah (Egy) bt Mahesh Mangaokar (Ind) 11-9, 8-11, 11-9,6-11, 11-5; Ivan Yuen (Mas) bt Elvinn Keo (Mas) 11-13, 11-13, 11-8, 11-3,11-6. Women: Line Hansen (Den) bt Nouran El Torky (Egy) 11-6, 11-3, 13-11; Rachel Arnold (Mas) bt Lisa Camilleri (Aus) 11-9, 11-3, 11-6. |
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