KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20 – Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah believed in themselves to snatch a thrilling first-round win in the Toyota Thailand Open at the Impact Arena with an upset come-from-behind 16-21, 21-15, 27-25 win over fancied sixth seeds Chang Ye-na-Kim Hye-rin of South Korea.

It is a match they will remember and puts them in line for a quarter-final berth when they take on the French pair of Vimala Heriau-Margot Lambert.

The win over the Koreans is certainly a big boost to their confidence and this they showed in the 77-minutes match.

”We believed in ourselves but we can do better. Our on-court communication helped us a lot,” said Pearly after the match.

Another pair that advanced on Wednesday was the Chow Mei Kuan-Lee Meng Yean combination who walked away with a straight game 21-17, 21-16 win over Canada’s Rachel Honderich-Kristen Tsai in 45 minutes.

For a place in the quarter-finals, they will face Australians Setyana Mapasa-Gronya Somerville.

In a 73-minute thriller in the mixed doubles, Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing went down fighting against Marcus Ellis-Lauren Smith. The English won 14-21, 21-15, 21-19.

However, Hoo Pang Ron-Cheah Yee See added some cheer to the Malaysian camp when they ousted India’s Sumeeth Reddy-Sikki Reddy – coming through 55-minutes for a 21-14, 18-21, 21-12 win. They next face Thom Gizquel-Delphine of France.

Expect a thriller in the men’s singles second-round match between Malaysian professional Daren Liew and India’s HS Prannoy. Daren received a walkover from another Indian B. Sai Praneeth who was tested positive for Covid-19.

Prannoy showed great character and determination to pack off Indonesia’s Asian Games champion Jonatan Christie after a marathon of 75-minutes, winning 18-21, 21-16, 23-21 in the biggest upset in the tournament.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 19 – Malaysia’s number one men’s singles shuttler, Lee Zii Jia crashed to first-round defeat in the Super 1000 Toyota Thailand Open 2021 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok after surrendering a 10-point lead in the second game against India’s Sameer Verma.

After taking the first game 21-18, the 22-year-old number eight seed Zii Jia looked good for a straight-game win with a healthy 18-7 lead.

However, at this stage, the Malaysian simply lost direction and his cutting edge to allow the Indian into the game.

Verma grew in confidence as Zii Jia, who is earmarked a potential medal winner at the Tokyo Olympics later this year, lost his character along the way, growing desperate for points.

Zii Jia heaped pressure on himself and at the end of 74 minutes, it was an 18-21, 27-25, 21-19 win for the Indian.

At last week’s Yonex Thailand Open at the same venue, Zii Jia made the quarter-final before bowing out to second-seeded Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei who won 21-17, 21-15. He made the quarter-final after India’s K. Srikanth conceded a walkover in the second round.

Professionals Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong got off to a winning start in the men’s doubles. The pair who finished runners-up in the Yonex Thailand Open advanced when Korean opponents Kim Gi-jung-Lee Yong-dae conceded a walkover four minutes into the match when Yong-dae suffered a calf injury with the Malaysians leading 6-2.

V Shem-Wee Kiong, the Rio Olympics silver medallist and former world champions will take on the Thai pair Supak Jomkoh-Kittinupong who surprised another Malaysian pair, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin 13-21, 21-13, 11-17.

Malaysia’s number one pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik who lost to V Shem-Wee Kiong in the first round last week, defeated Thailand’s Weerapat Phakjarung-Wongsathorn Thongkam 21-10, 21-18 to stay in contention.

Also on the winning mode was Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi but had to battle the distance before snatching a 19-21, 21-13, 21-19 win over homesters Nipitphon Phuangphuapet-Tanupat Viriyangkura in 54 minutes.

In the mixed doubles, Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying smashed their way to a 21-13, 21-13 win over Germany’s Jones Jansen-Kilasu Ostermeyer while Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie outplayed the French pair of Ronan Labar-Anne Tran21-12, 21-15.

In the women singles, it was mixed fortunes for Malaysia. Soniia Cheah failed to clear the first hurdle with a 21-9, 21-14 defeat to second seed Sung Ji-hyun of Korea in 41 minutes. Malaysia’s hope now rests on s. Kisona.

The Sea Games champion breezed past Doha Hany of Egypt 21-10, 21-17 in only 23 minutes and will face India’s reigning world champion and sixth seed P.V. Sindhu for a place in the quarter-finals.

In the women’s doubles, Vivian Hoo-Yap Cheng Wen advanced after England’s higher ranked pair Chloe Birch-Lauren Smith21-14, 21-14.

Hanya 7 pusingan mampu dianjurkan bermula di lapangan IOI Palm Villa, Johor pada September lalu dan berakhir minggu lalu di A’Famosa Golf  Resort, Melaka selepas ia ditunda beberapa kali sejak April 2020.

Menurut Pengarah Urusan Prestige Golf Sdn Bhd selaku penganjur kejohanan, K. Vasudevan, walaupun terhimpit dengan pandemik Covid-19 pihaknya masih berupaya untuk menganjur 7 pusingan membabitkan beberapa lapangan di Johor, Pahang, Negeri Sembilan, Pulau Pinang, Selangor dan Melaka dengan hampir 700 pemain menyertai satu-satunya kejohanan golf amatur terbesar yang masih relevan dalam negara.

Dalam 3 edisi lalu, kejohanan ini menawarkan juara bagi setiap pusingan bertanding dalam penentuan Juara antara Juara di luar negara, namun bagi edisi kali ini semuanya terpaksa dibatalkan akibat arahan tidak boleh merentas sempadan.

Pada pusingan terakhir di lapangan A’Famosa Golf Resort, Melaka minggu lalu, Suffian Mohd. Yusof muncul juara keseluruhan Gross dengan mencatat 75 pukulan 3 atas par manakala AB Aziz Toha muncul juara Nett dengan mengumpul 40 mata.

Sementara itu di lapangan Bukit Beruntong, Selangor pula menyaksikan Mohd. Syah Syarizal menggunguli kategori Gross dengan catatan 70 pukulan 2 bawah par. Juara Nett pula menjadi milik Mohd. Adnan.

Menurut Nordin Yahya selaku Pengurus Acara bagi 3 lapangan untuk kejohanan ini, ia satu pengalaman yang agak mencabar kerana perlu memastikan setiap pemain mematuhi SOP yang telah ditetapkan oleh kerajaan dan MGA (Malaysia Golf Association).

“Sambutan amat baik namun kita terpaksa mengehadkan jumlah penyertaan berdasarkan SOP dan keupayaan serta fasiliti yang ada di lapangan golf berkenaan,” tegas Nordin

Kejohanan Amatur Terbuka Bridgestone ASEAN bagi musim 2020 ini menawarkan pelbagai hadiah menarik antaranya set peralatan golf jenama Bridgestone bernilai RM16,500, Bridgestone driver JGR RM2,990 untuk hadiah ‘hole in one’, Jam tangan Titoni bernilai RM5,550 serta beberapa hadiah lain yang nilai keseluruhannya mencecah sehingga RM30,000.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 – They fought tooth and nail but Malaysian professionals Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong were not able to stop sixth seeds, Lee Yang-Wang Chi-Lin of Chinese Taipei from walking away with the men’s doubles title in the Yonex Thailand Open which ended in Bangkok on Sunday.

It was certainly heartbreak for V Shem-Wee Kiong at Impact Arena after recovering from a game down to force a rubber game but could not muster the extra at vital stages during the 65-minute battle in their 16-21, 23-21, 19-21 defeat to Lee Yang-Chi-Lin.

The defeat was painful as the former world number one pair are now 3-0 down to their Taiwanese opponents, having lost their previous two encounters.

Still, V Shem-Wee Kiong can hold their heads as they were the only Malaysians to feature in the final in the Yonex Thailand Open which offered USD 1 million in prize money. The next Super 1000 tournament is the Toyota Thailand Open which begins at the same venue on Tuesday.

For their efforts, V Shem-Wee Kiong, the Rio Olympics silver medal winners, pocketed USD35,000 in prize money. The sixth-seeded champions took home USD 70,000.

”They were fast and speedy…we lost out in this. They were also consistent throughout. Still, we are happy with our overall performance in our first tournament after more than a year,” said Wee Kiong after the match.

Meanwhile, former world champion and reigning All-England champion Viktor Axelsen, the fourth seed, stopped Hong Kong China’s eight seed Angus Ng Ka Long 21-14, 21-14 for the men’s singles title which made him USD70,000 richer. Ka Long settled for USD35,000. For the record, the Dane has won all his nine encounters against Ka Long.

Chinese Taipei’s top seed and world No 1 Tai Tzu Ying was at the losing end against in form Carolina Marin of Spain in the women’s singles final. The Spaniard, ranked No 6, won 21-9, 21-16.

Thailand won the mixed doubles title through top seeds Dechapol Puavaranukro-Sapsiree Taerattanachai who defeated Indonesia’s All-England champions Praveen Jordan-Melati Daeva Oktavianti 21-3, 20-22, 21-8 in a 56-minute match.

The women’s doubles saw Indonesia’s Greysia Polii-Apriyani Rahayu with the fifth seeds outplayed Thailand’s seventh seeds Jongkolphan Kititharakul-Rawinda Prajongjai 21-15, 21-12 for the title and USD74,000 in prize money.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 16 – Malaysia’s flag is still flying high in the Yonex Thailand Open Super 1000 tournament at Impact Arena in Bangkok- thanks to former world number one Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong in the men’s doubles.

The Rio Olympics silver medallists woke up after a tough first game to dump Indonesian world junior champions Leo Rolly Carnando-Daniel Marthin 21-19, 21-10 in 29 minutes to advance to Sunday’s final.

The Malaysian professionals will face either Lee Yang-Wang Chi-Lin of Chinese Taipei or the Korean pair of Choi Sol Gyu-Seo Seung Jae in the final.

V Shem-Wee Kiong is the only hope for a title in the tournament after a disappointing day in the quarter-finals when men’s singles hope Lee Zii Jia was a flop in his match against second-seeded Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei. The Malaysian lost 17-21, 15-21.

Mixed doubles medal prospects Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying were also disappointing in their quarter-finals against Thai top seeds Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree and were shown the exit with the home pair winning 21-18, 21-17.

Liu Ying later admitted that she was hampered by a back injury and this saw her struggle in her game against the aggressive Thais.

 ”I hope to be in better shape in the next tournament,” said Liu Ying who won the silver medal with Peng Soon at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The tournament Super 1000 tournament is the Toyota Thailand Open which begins on Tuesday.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 15 – Only men’s doubles pair Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong remain Malaysia’s hopes in the Yonex Thailand Open after the quarter-final matches were completed at the Impact Arena in Bangkok on Friday.

That too the Rio Olympics silver medallists were involved in an all-Malaysian clash against Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani and it was experience that handed V Shem-Wee Kiong a semi-final berth with a straight games 21-16, 21-19 win in 40 minutes.

The former World No 1 are favorites to book a place in the final when they clash with Indonesian youngsters Leo Rolly Carnando-Daniel Marthin in the semis. The 19 year-olds showed maturity in their game after coming back from a game down to beat England hopes Marcus Ellis-Chris Langride 12-21, 21-15, 21-15.

Putting that aside it was a disappointing day for Malaysia at Impact Arena on a day when men’s singles hope Lee Zii Jia flopped. The 22-year-old top ranked Malaysian lacked mental strength in his straight game defeat to second-seeded Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei.

The Taiwanese played a patient game to hand Zii Jia a 21-17, 21-15 in 43 minutes. Much was expected from Zii Jia who no match in the second round when India’s K. Srikanth handed a walkover due to calf muscle strain.

Instead it was Tien Chen who looked more aggressive and fitter in his game to earn a semi-final tied against Angus Ng Ka Long. The seventh seed defeated his Hong Kong China compatriot Lee Cheuk Yiu 21-17, 21-12.

The other Malaysian pair in the men’s doubles Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi crashed to sixth seeds Lee Yang-Wang Chi-Lin of Chinese Taipei 21-23, 15-21 in 42 minutes.

It was also disappointment in the mixed doubles when independent pair Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying went down to top seeds and Thai hopes Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai 18-21, 17-21 in a 44-minute match.

In the last tie of the day it was left to Peraly Tan-M. Thinaa to salvage some pride for Malaysia but the young pair could not do much against Indonesian fifth seeds Greysia Polii-Apriyani Rahayu who won 21-15, 21-12.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 14 – Malaysian number one Lee Zii Jia strolled into the quarter-finals in the men’s singles at the HSBC BWF World Tour Super 1000 Yonex Thailand Open when his second-round opponent K. Srikanth of India conceded a walkover due to a calf muscle strain.

The 22-year-old Zii Jia will lock horns with world number two Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei for a place in the last four.

The Taiwanese defeated Indonesia’s Shesar Rhustavito 21-16, 21-19.

Independent shuttler Liew Daren’s campaign came to an abrupt end when he went out in straight games to Hong Kong China’s Lee Cheuk Yiu 21-14, 21-17 in 52 minutes – just a day after pulling off a sensational 21-12, 21-18 win over third-ranked Anders Anderson of Denmark in his opening match.

Malaysia had a good run in the men’s doubles with three pairs making the quarter-finals and is assured of a semi-final berth with Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong taking on Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani.

V Shem-Wee Kiong outplayed English pair Ben Lane-Sean Vendy 21-11, 21-19 in 39 minutes. Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin also impressed in their 21-19, 21-10 win over Denmark’s Mathias Christiansen-Niclas Nohr.

Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi continued their winning ways at the Impact Arena in Bangkok – taking only 22 minutes to demolish Chew brothers Philip and Ryan 21-12, 21-7. The Malaysians face a tougher hurdle next when they face sixth seeds Lee Yang-Wang Chi-Lin of Chinese Taipei who ousted Thailand’s Supak Jomkoh-Kittinupong Kedren.

In the mixed doubles, only one pair remains in contention – 2016 Rio Olympics silver medal winners Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying. The fifth seeds had no problem in their 21-18, 21-13 win over Dutch pair Robin Tabeling-Selena Piek in 40 minutes.

The win earned the pair a quarter-final clash against top seeds and home favorites Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai who came back from a game down to beat Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie 20-22 21-18, 21-12 in a 63-minute clash.

World No 11 Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing fell to a shock 16-21, 15-21 defeat to Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue of France.

Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah kept Malaysia’s hopes alive in the women’s doubles after a 22-20, 21-14 win over Danes Alexandra Boje-Metter Poulsen and will face Indonesian fifth seeds Greysia Polii-Apriyani Rahayu for a place in the semi-finals.

Malaysia’s other pair in the women’s doubles Vivian Hoo-Yap Cheng Wen was bundled out when they lost 14-21, 14-21 to Korean third seeds Lee So-hee-Shin Seung Chan.

PETALING JAYA, Jan 13 – COVID-19 has once again wreaked havoc on sports and football is no exception – the number one sport in the country.

It looks like the much-loved sport is headed for another gloomy outlook but all is not lost.

After being hit again on Monday when Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced that six states – Penang, Selangor, Federal Territories (Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur and Labuan), Melaka, Johor and Sabah – will be placed under Movement Control Order (MCO) from Jan 13 to Jan 26.

Six other states (Kedah, Perak, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan) have been placed under the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) while Perlis and Sarawak came under the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO).

Any extension of the MCOs after Jan 26 will be a big blow to all teams as the Malaysian Football League for the 2021 season has been drawn up.

The latest move by the government has certainly thrown a spanner in the preparations of the teams.

This year’s MFL season is set to kickoff on Feb 26 with Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) and Kedah playing for the Charity Shield in the curtain raiser. The match will also count towards the league points.

MFL Chief Executive Officer Datuk Ab Ghani Hassan, however, stressed that for now no changes will be made to the MFL calendar.

However, in the same breath he was quick to point that ”alternative plans are in place” should the need arise. ”We will wait and see what happens next.”

With that comes a plea that a lot depends on the football fans and the people of Malaysia who need to play their part to play their role to curb the pandemic by strictly following the standard operating procedure (SOP) bring down the current positive cases that have been running into four figures daily of late.

”We need the cooperation of all to help the authorities contain the pandemic.”

”If the MCO is not extended after Jan 26 there is enough time for the teams for their pre-season training,” added Ghani.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 – He did not look in the best of shape fitness-wise but Liew Daren stood tall as he made a stunning start to his campaign in the men’s singles at the Yonex Thailand Open with a delightful 21-12, 21-18 win over Denmark’s world No 3 Anders Antonsen.

The 41 ranked 33-year-old Malaysian was even seen holding his back towards the end of the match at the Impact Arena in Bangkok but nothing could stop him from keeping his second-round date against Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu for a place in the quarter-finals.

”I am surprised in many ways as I was on the reserves list and was not sure if I will be playing in the tournament. However, I believed in myself. When the opportunity came, I gave my best,” said Daren after his win.

He also earned praise from Antonsen who said Daren deserved the win and he was a better player in the match.

Joining Daren in the second round is eighth seed, Lee Zii Jia who was taken the full distance by India’s HS Prannoy. The Malaysian came back from a game down to prevail 13-21, 21-14, 21-8 in a 55-minute match.

Another India waits for Zii Jia for a place in the quarter-finals – former World No 1 K. Srikanth who defeated compatriot Sourabh Verma 21-12, 21-11 in the first round.

Malaysia’s ended in the women’s singles following first round defeats for Soniia Cheah and S. Kisona.

Soniia tumbled out with a 21-15, 21-12 defeat to seventh seed An Se Young of Korea in 38 minutes while Saina Nehwal of India needed only 36 minutes in her 21-15, 21-15 win over Kisona, the Sea Games champion.

In the women’s doubles, Vivian Hoo-Yap Cheng Wen crushed Russians Anastasia Akchurina-Ola Morozova 21-10, 21-11 while Chow Mei Kuan-Lee Meng Yean proved took strong for the French pair of Vimala Heriau-Margot Lambert with a 21-15, 21-18 win.

Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing advanced in the mixed doubles with a 2-14, 21-14 win over Daniel Hess-Linda Efler of Germany in a 34-minute match.