PETALING JAYA: Shuttler M. Thinaah is aiming for a fresh start in the New Year after enjoying a royal touch. Yesterday, Thinaah, who form the national No. 1 women’s doubles partnership with Pearly Tan, received the Bintang Kecemerlangan Sukan (BKS) award in conjunction with Selangor Ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah’s 78th birthday. “I’m very honoured to get...
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s badminton is on a sharp decline compared to other powerhouses if the World Tour Finals is to be used as an indication of the nation’s growth in the sport over the last six years. No Malaysian shuttler has won in the season finale since the Tour Finals was introduced in 2018. The Finals...
PETALING JAYA: It’s rare for an athlete to share the same name as his or her idol but men’s doubles shuttler Aaron Tai is one of the few who can say that he does. Aaron, who was promoted to the senior team last month, looks up to current national No. 1 Aaron Chia and hopes to...
PETALING JAYA: It has been a season filled with both peaks and valleys for national doubles shuttler Yap Roy King but he harbours no complaints. The 22-year-old Roy King experienced a few changes in his sports career, stepping into a dual role after a reshuffle in the men’s doubles department caused by the split of another...
PETALING JAYA: The presence of Anders Antonsen of Denmark has doubled the excitement in the national singles camp. And national coach Hendrawan believes it will benefit both parties. The world No. 11 Antonsen is using his short training stint at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) as his preparation for the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, China, from...
PETALING JAYA: A more rigorous training schedule could be the key to turning women’s singles shuttler Goh Jin Wei’s form around next year. Jin Wei had a difficult year where she had suffered first-round exits in 14 out of her 21 tournaments. The 23-year-old though remains Malaysia’s best bet in the women’s singles to qualify for the...
PETALING JAYA: Taiwanese shuttler Chi Yu-jen (pic) has crowned his great run with the Syed Modi International title. The world No. 48 stunned Japan’s world No. 12 Kenta Nishimoto 20-22, 21-12, 21-17 in a thrilling men’s singles final in Lucknow yesterday. Nishimoto started as the overwhelming favourite but the little known Yu-jen battled brilliantly to upstage his...
PETALING JAYA: Shuttler Soong Joo Ven slammed the organisers of the Syed Modi International in Lucknow after going through a chaotic journey from his hotel to the tournament venue for his men’s singles quarter-final match. Independent player Joo Ven opened up about the difficulties he was forced to face before facing Frenchman Alex Lanier in the...
PETALING JAYA: It’s a relief to Lee Zii Jia (pic) as he is back in the top 10 in the latest world rankings yesterday following a drastic improvement in his performance in several Badminton World Federation (BWF) tournaments since the Asian Games in Hangzhou. The independent shuttler moved one spot from world No. 11 to world...
PETALING JAYA: Mixed doubles coach Nova Widianto has challenged top pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei to at least reach the last four of the World Tour Finals from Dec 13-17 in Hangzhou. Tang Jie-Ee Wei had made the cut for the prestigious season ending Finals for the first time after clinching the eighth and final...
