Tag: All England

All England – Sugiarto crashes out at first hurdle (pic)

Tommy Sugiarto, winner of the Singapore Open last year and finalist at last month's Malaysian Open, was sent crashing out by a qualifier in the first round at the All England Open on Wednesday.

BIRMINGHAM: Tommy Sugiarto, winner of the Singapore Open last year and finalist at last month's Malaysian Open, was sent crashing out by a qualifier in the first round at the All England Open on Wednesday.

The world number three from Indonesia twice appeared to have turned the match around, and was foiled only in the last few points by Gao Huan, an impressively resilient Chinese player.Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia during the men's singles semi final at the BWF badminton World Superseries Finals in Kuala Lumpur in December 2013.

The 24-year-old from Liaoning won 21-13, 10-21, 21-18, making good use of his familiarity with the conditions from his two matches in the qualifying competition to squeeze out the best win of his career.

Continue reading All England – Sugiarto crashes out at first hurdle (pic)

From friends to foes for Chinese Olympic champs

LONDON: United, Fu Haifeng and Cai Yun stand as an unstoppable force in men's badminton doubles, hauling in four World Championships and an Olympic gold medal. Divided? One will have to fall when they meet at the All England badminton championships.

The duo said they would continue to play together after winning gold in London in 2012, but the Chinese have been experimenting with their lineups and Fu is partnering Zhang Nan, while Cai is with Kai Lu in Birmingham.

The new pairs will square off against each other in the first round proper.

"The All England is an incredible tournament and everyone who plays here wants to win," said Fu.

Continue reading From friends to foes for Chinese Olympic champs

All-England: Misbun takes a step in the right direction （pic）

BIRMINGHAM: It would have been a gloomy start for Malaysian badminton had it not been for Misbun Ramdan Misbun in the first qualifying round of the All-England.

The 23-year-old Misbun, competing in the All-England for the first time, produced a superb performance to beat the experienced Joachim Persson of Denmark 21-16, 18-21, 21-8 on Tuesday.Misbun Ramdan Misbun in a file photo. He beat the experienced Joachim Persson of Denmark 21-16, 18-21, 21-8 in the All-England first qualifying round.

“This is my first time competing in the All-England and the first time I’ve faced Joachim, who is really experienced. So, naturally, I was a little excited and nervous,” said 2012 national champion Ramdan, who showed good trickery and excellent court coverage en route to the victory.

“Joachim has played in the Thomas Cup before and is more familiar with these kind of situations … I’m happy to beat him.

Continue reading All-England: Misbun takes a step in the right direction （pic）

Chong Wei raring for action

All systems go: World No 1 shrugs off injury concerns in quest to capture his third crown at the All England

DESPITE injury concerns, Lee Chong Wei is fit and ready for the All England which starts on Tuesday as the World No 1 seeks a third men's singles crown in Birmingham.

The 31-year-old had earlier contemplated withdrawing from the tournament, which he won in 2010 and 2011, after picking up an ankle strain during training.

Team manager Dr Koay Ban Hing said Chong Wei is feeling comfortable for the All England challenge.

"As far as I am concerned, Chong Wei is fit for the tournament. If the injury bothers him during matches, he should decide the next course of action," said Ban Hing at Juara Stadium yesterday.

Continue reading Chong Wei raring for action

All-England: It’s a go for Chong Wei (pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: It’s all systems go for world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei. He will be leaving for the All-England tournament on Saturday night.

The 31-year-old Penangite had on Friday stated that he may pull out of the tournament as he had not fully recovered from an ankle injury sustained two weeks ago during a doubles exhibition match with long-time rival Lin Dan of China.Lee Chong Wei in training on Friday. He will meet Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk of Thailand in the first round of the All-England.

Chong Wei, who won the All-England in 2010 and 2011, however deemed himself fit enough to compete after Saturday’s final training session at the Juara Stadium.

Continue reading All-England: It’s a go for Chong Wei (pic)

Khim Wah gets cracking to improve serve (pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: It is no secret that doubles shuttler Lim Khim Wah’s weak link is his service.

Instead of whining about it, the diminutive Khim Wah has been spending extra hours perfecting his service so that he and his partner Goh V Shem can end Malaysia’s long wait for the men’s doubles title in the All-England from March 4-9 in Birmingham.Lim Khim Wah (left) and Goh V Shem after they won the Malaysian Open on Jan 19, 2014. Khim Wah admits that part of his problem with serving is that nerves tend to get the better of him.

Last month, Khim Wah and V Shem brought great joy to the doubles department when they defeated Hong Wei-Chai Biao of China in the final of the Malaysian Open and end the country’s four-year wait for a home title.

Although they won, Khim Wah’s poor service was glaring – 10 of his services ended up in the net, much to the dismay of the home fans.

Khim Wah admitted that his service problem is due to nerves.

Continue reading Khim Wah gets cracking to improve serve (pic)

Lee Chong Wei to compete in All-England Badminton Championships (pic)

Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei, who won his 10th consecutive Maybank Malaysian Open title in January, has appeared in the last five men's singles finals.

Malaysia's badminton ace Lee Chong Wei and defending champion Chen Long of China confirmed their participation in the All-England Badminton Championships to be held in Birmingham from March 4-9.Can Lee Chong Wei win another All England Title?

Continue reading Lee Chong Wei to compete in All-England Badminton Championships (pic)

Lin Dan fails to make the cut for All-England (pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei will not have his nemesis Lin Dan of China as one of his opponents at the All-England in Birmingham from March 4-9.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) released the entries for the prestigious event on Thursday and five-time world champion Lin Dan, who had indicated making a return to the training centre recently after a six-month absence, did not make the cut.

Lin Dan is currently ranked 103rd in the world.In the absence of Lin Dan, he is expected to be the main threat to world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei in the All England badminton tournament.

Chong Wei, who is the top seed, will be hoping to win the All-England title for the third time. However, he will face strong opposition as the rest of the players in the top 10 standings have confirmed their entry.

Continue reading Lin Dan fails to make the cut for All-England (pic)

Lin Dan signals intention to return (pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: Five-time world champion Lin Dan of China has announced his intention to resume training at the national centre – sparking talk of his long-awaited comeback to the international scene.Lin Dan may see action at the German Open or the All England qualifiers.

If all goes well, Lin Dan, who is currently ranked 103rd in the world, may see action in either the German Open or All England qualifying tournaments. The German Open is from Feb 26-March 2 and the All England is from March 4-9.

If he fails to make the cut for these two tournaments, there is a big probability he will feature in the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold from March 11-16.

Continue reading Lin Dan signals intention to return (pic)