Tee Jing Yi Knocks Down Yihan To Advance In Hong Kong Open 2014

Tee Jing Yi 

Women’s singles shuttler Tee Jing Yi played the match of her life to become the last Malaysian standing at the Hong Kong Open.

The 23-year-old beat world No. 3 Wang Yihan 21-19, 14-21, 21-15 in the second round on Thursday.

World No. 34 Jing Yi was not given much hope against the Chinese second seed, who is the reigning Olympic silver medallist and the 2011 world champion.

But Jing Yi certainly proved her doubters wrong after taking four straight points from 17-19 to nick the first game.

Despite losing the second, Jing Yi stayed cool to seal her first ever quarter-final appearance in a Superseries event after 51 minutes.

“Maybe my opponent wasn’t in the best form … I just took the opportunity to attack her from the start,” said an elated Jing Yi.

“Since I was the lower ranked player, I had nothing to lose and I just went all out. I also played an offensive game. I’m happy to win, especially since I never thought I could beat an opponent like Yihan. But I can’t lose focus yet.

“To earn my first quarter-final appearance at this level has definitely boosted my confidence.”

Jing Yi’s reward is a quarter-final clash against world champion and fifth seed Carolina Marin. The Spaniard had little trouble disposing of Malaysia’s Lydia Cheah, winning 21-10, 21-10 in just 25 minutes.

It was a bad day for the big guns in the women’s category, with top seed Wang Shixian of China, fourth seed Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand and seventh seed P.V. Sindhu of India crashing out.

Malaysia’s challenge in the men’s singles and women’s doubles also came to an end after Chong Wei Feng and Lim Yin Loo-Lee Meng Yean lost in the second round.

Wei Feng, who slipped from No. 23 to No. 32 in the world rankings, disappointed with his inconsistency.

Wei Feng, who beat eighth seed Tian Houwei of China in the first round, saved three match points against Takuma Ueda of Japan but still lost 18-21, 21-15, 20-22.

Ueda will meet top seed Chen Long in the last eight.

World No. 35 women’s pair Yin Loo-Meng Yean nearly upset the form books against fifth seeds Bao Yixin-Wang Xiaoli of China but eventually went down 21-19, 16-21, 9-21.

Source: thestar.com.my

Saina Nehwal Gagal Tembus Semifinal Hongkong Terbuka 2014

Saina Nehwal

KOWLOON, Satu lagi pemain unggulan tunggal putri tumbang di Hongkong Terbuka. Unggulan ketiga asal India, Saina Nehwal, gagal melangkah ke semifinal setelah ditundukkan Tai Tzu Ying (Taiwan), 15-21, 19-21, Jumat (21/11/2014).

Nehwal yang pekan lalu menjuarai Tiongkok Terbuka (China Open) membuka pertandingan dengan mencetak dua angka secara beruntun. Namun, setelah itu dia terkejar dan terlewati Tzu yang mencatat lima angka beruntun.

Tzu berhasil mempertahankan keunggulan hingga akhir gim pertama tanpa memberi kesempatan Nehwal mendekat.

Gim kedua berjalan ketat. Kedua pemain berebut poin sejak awal hingga akhir. Nehwal sempat unggul 19-18 sebelum akhirnya terlewati dan harus melepas gim ini. Nehwal pun gagal melangkah ke semifinal.

Bagi Tzu, ini adalah kemenangan ketiganya atas Nehwal dari total delapan kali bertemu. Pebulu tangkis 20 tahun tersebut kini menunggu lawan di semifinal, antara Liu Xin (Tiongkok) dan Minatsu Mitani (Jepang).

Sebelumnya, unggulan pertama dan kedua dari Tiongkok, Wang Shixian dan Wang Yihan, lebih dulu tersingkir di babak kedua, Kamis (20/11/2014). Begitu juga dengan unggulan keempat asal Thailand, Ratchanok Intanon.

sumber tournament softwar

Carolina Marin proves too good for Tee Jing Yi in Hong Kong Open 2014

Tee Jing Yi’s gallant run in the Hong Kong Open has ended.

The 23-year-old female singles shuttler found world champion Carolina Marin a tough nut to crack, going down 8-21, 17-21 in the quarter-finals on Friday.

Jing Yi went into the match on a high after beating world No. 3 Wang Yihan of China in the second round.

But the Malaysian, making her first quarter-final appearance in a Superseries event, was a bundle of nerves against the left-handed Spaniard.

“It was a tough game and Carolina was faster on court. She controlled the game with her attacking play,” said Jing Yi.

“I just couldn’t keep up ... but it’s a good eye-opener. Now I know I have to continue working harder to improve myself.

“It’s been a great run ... making my first quarter-final appearance at this level. I’m hoping to take my game up a level and do well in every other tournament I compete in, not just the Superseries events.”

The 21-year-old Marin will meet Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara in the semi-finals.

Okuhara, the 2012 world junior champion, defeated reigning world junior champion and team-mate Akane Yamaguchi 21-15, 21-11.

Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying bagged a major scalp when she knocked out third seed and China Open winner Saina Nehwal of India with a 21-15, 21-19 win.

In men’s singles, world champion Chen Long rebounded from an early exit at the China Open last week to trounce Japan’s Takuma Ueda 21-16, 21-11 in the quarter-finals.

He will meet India’s K. Srikanth, who defeated home favourite Wei Nan 21-14, 21-15, for a place in the final.

                           
source thestar.com.my