this time is NO lee chong wei around, long time ago only LCW managed to reach SF and then Final and then win the title while his teammates are downed in QF always...
Selena normally mixes up with Jacco Arends, but because of him being injured, she plays with Robin, who's there anyway.
It's reported that Shi Yuqi had the runs (a case of diarrhea) before the start of R1 against Brice Leverdez, and already felt some discomfort during G2 but hung on to win the match narrowly despite having some difficulty exerting himself. In fact, after that match, he turned down a request for an interview citing stomach ache. To his surprise he went on to beat Suppanyu whom he thought probably didn't play to form in R2. http://sports.sina.com.cn/others/badmin/2019-01-18/doc-ihqfskcn8335266.shtml
Shi yuqi was healthy yesterday it seems. Only in the first round, he felt discomfort during 2nd game.
Is it just me or is anyone else imagining @lurker dangling from the stadium ceiling 50 feet above ground, camera in hand, rope around his ankle?
Last year, Daren Liew reached the semis, before went down against Axelsen, the defending champion right now. And LCW was in his first round exit against Nishimoto, last year runner-up in Malaysia Masters.
SEMIFINAL (12.00pm) => https://www.tournamentsoftware.com/...6FF7F1-4E8D-470A-BE0B-4E3BA6DF7521&d=20190119 Host Malaysia has most representatives in semifinal on home Super 500 tournament with one final spot has been secured in men's doubles, what a delightful day for local badminton fans. A premature MS blockbuster will set the Olympic Champion and former world champion face off earlier. Chen Long neutralizes his nemesis Anthony Ginting, 21-11 / 22-20. Chen easily controlled opening set superbly to anticipate almost all Ginting shots particularly at front area and executed with hard smashes. The intensity escalated in second game when both players traded points, Chen Long looked so tense at 20-17, couldn’t convert it smoothly with three mistakes then extra point was needed to bring Chen into semifinal here. Defending champion Viktor Axelsen outclasses local young hopeful Lee Zii Jia despite the young Malaysian fought back in next game, 21-12 / 22-20. The big headline occured in court 2 when Liew Daren subdued recent World Tour Finals champion Shi Yuqi, 21-12 / 16-21 / 21-11. Still questionable about Shi consistency after gained so many praises to tame Kento Momota in Guangzhou last month. The underdog Liew will face seasoned campaigner Son Wan Ho who's back to positive trend lately since his victory in HKG Open last November. Son defeated 7th seed Srikanth Kidambi in gruelling match, 21-23 / 21-16 / 21-17. Home new star Goh Jin Wei continues her fine run at home soil to dispose He Bingjiao, thanks to her solid defense, court coverage and agility as well how she outmaneuvered the slow movement He. Next hurdle to overcome is Thailand number one Ratchanok Intanon who eliminated the error-proned, lack of shot accuracy Tai Tzu Ying comfortably, 21-13 / 21-14. Out of prediction, two quick games instead of their mastery technical skills showcase. Carolina Marin is on course to seek first title in this year, destroys the fragile Sung Ji Hyun, the Spanish lady is above the class over stagnant Sung. Marin will take on Saina Nehwal, the Indian has better tactic and gameplan to tackle Nozomi Okuhara in close contest, 21-18 / 23-21. Gideon/Sukamuljo are encircled by three home pairs, today's big match will pit them against old foes Goh VS/Tan WK, this tie certainly will roaring in Axiata Arena. All Malaysian finals in bottom-half of draw, a rarity in BWF World Tour. Ong YS/Teo EY and Aaron Chia/Soh WY defeat more favoured rival, Kamura/Sonoda and CHN Open champion Astrup/Rasmussen respectively. Following men’s doubles pattern, it’s quite predictable that Polii/Rahayu surrounded by Japan top three pairs. A very tough task to beat two Japanese combinations in a row, the Olympic Champion Matsutomo/Takahashi in semifinal and either world number one Fukushima/Hirota or reigning World Champion Matsumoto/Nagahara in final. An upset in mixed doubles quarterfinal produced by Tabeling/Piek who stun European Champions Chris and Gabby Adcock in two straight-games. The Netherlands duo will up against one of title contenders, Thailand aces Puavaranukroh/Taerattanachai. On top-half draw, All England champion Watanabe/Higashino demolish Korean pair, Seo SJ/Chae YJ who couldn’t stem the Japanese fast furious attack and reading their placement. The top-seed will find home challengers Chan PS/Goh LY in first match of semifinal day. LIVE TV COVERAGE (COURT 1)
they should have put all matches on court 1..... wth man only 2 matches left out.... and also minions vs gvs/TWK should.be.the last match of the day.... not same country crap
if put minions vs gvs/TWK at last match, confirm stadium full of malaysians and indonesians audience, just like back to 1992 thomas cup final...
I realise its difficult to play defence in this stadium. Most lifts are too short. The home support is strong. Everytime shuttle lifts up, they have that extra support to kill it from the fans.
Yeah, you are absolutely right, it's so hard to play defense, most of defensive clear shot is out easily, and players just hit the shuttle to "3/4 of the court" Then, stadium "ya-ya-ya" => take the point
