Okuhara did not do anything at all. Saina who has 9-4 h2h against Nozomi and who won their last 3 encounters , is clearly out of form. Sent from my SM-G600FY using Tapatalk
Badminton: Crowd boos Chinese star Lin Dan as he pulls out of Singapore Open, citing cramp Former world No. 1 Lin Dan of China withdrew after just 14 minutes into the first-round clash with another former world No. 1, Viktor Axelsen of Denmark, on April 10, 2019.ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG Published Apr 10, 2019, 9:59 pm SGT Nicole Chia cnicole@sph.com.sg SINGAPORE - Fourteen minutes. That was how long the highly anticipated Singapore Badminton Open first-round clash between former world No. 1s Lin Dan of China and Viktor Axelsen of Denmark lasted on Wednesday (April 10). Lin, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and five-time world champion, withdrew from the match while trailing 20-13 in the first game at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, citing cramp in his left thigh. The 35-year-old had been cruising at 6-0 up, but the wheels first started to come off in the next point when the umpire overruled the line judge and called Axelsen's return in. This happened at least twice more before Lin called it quits as the crowd of about 4,000 jeered. Calling the match "a bit weird", a confused Axelsen, 25, said: "I don't really know what to say. If he's really injured, then I think it's a shame and I wish him a quick recovery. "But, if he's not injured and it was because of two bad line calls, then I feel sorry for our sport. "If he wasn't injured and he was just angry with the line judge, then I feel like something is wrong and it shouldn't happen." Lin, who won last week's Malaysia Open, told the media in Mandarin after seeking treatment from the tournament doctor: "There was nothing wrong with my emotions. Last week in Malaysia, I expended a lot of energy and the last two rounds were especially exhausting, so I think it is better for me to play it safe. "Coming up in two weeks are the Asian Championships followed by the start of the Olympic qualifiers, so I don't want anything bad to happen to my body. "I have nothing much to say about the referee's decisions because these are quite common, but I think a match-up of this quality would have been better served being played on Court 1." Court 1 is the only court where challenges are allowed. As such, Lin and Axelsen could not contest any decisions on Court 4, where they were assigned due to scheduling purposes. It is not the first time the Chinese great has courted controversy here. At the 2011 edition, the then world No. 2 withdrew from the men's singles final owing to stomach flu. He also did not turn up at the pre-tournament press conference that year, citing a stomach upset. Lin added: "There's nothing to be disappointed about, we will have many chances to play against each other. As for Singapore, it seems like a particularly tough destination for me. This year's competition is over, I look forward to playing better here next year." While Lin's pullout was a dampener on the first day of action, at least the top-ranked men and women's players gave the fans something to cheer about when their matches went the distance. Men's world No. 1 Kento Momota of Japan outlasted 2017 Singapore Open champion B. Sai Praneeth of India 19-21, 21-14, 22-20, while women's No. 1 Tai Tzu-ying had to dig deep to defeat a resurgent Zhang Beiwen of the United States 21-14, 10-21, 21-18. Tai, 24, a Taiwanese, felt she did not perform her best, saying: "I felt dizzy after coming to Singapore from Malaysia and couldn't really play my best game. It is so rare to see so many fans during the first round here. Their cheers made it hard for me to give up and I'm glad to pull through with their support." Reigning world champion Momota admitted that he was also not in his best condition as he was battling a cold. The 24-year-old Japanese said: "Japanese teams have been winning in this tournament so I feel a bit more pressure to perform. "There was a point where I really thought that I was not going to win this match and, towards the end of the match I could not predict (my opponent's moves) any more." Meanwhile, Singapore's Grace Chua earned a women's singles second-round clash with third seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan on Thursday after beating American Disha Gupta 21-19, 21-10 on Wednesday. The Republic's top-ranked shuttler Yeo Jia Min, however, fell 21-18, 17-21, 21-15 to Indonesian Ruselli Hartawan. The other Singaporeans to progress were Danny Bawa Chrisnanta and Loh Kean Hean, who beat India's Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy 21-13, 21-17 in the men's doubles. They will face Danish pair Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen on Thursday.
Saina's coaches and herself laughing at each other. This is her bad day Sent from my SM-G600FY using Tapatalk
Why? Zhang Jun has made his statement clear that no CHN player will be allowed to play double duties.
I don't know when his statement will be over. But, playing double duties doesn't guarantee that a player will gain a success. It's even possible that ZSW's performance will go down if he is doing double duties. It's just not easy thing to do so.
Lin Dan angers crowd at Singapore Badminton Open after walking off opening tie Chia Han Keong Editor Yahoo News Singapore10 April 2019 Chinese badminton star Lin Dan. (FILE PHOTO: AFP/Sadiq Asyraf) SINGAPORE — Lin Dan’s stature as one of badminton’s greatest winners is secure. He is the only shuttler to have won all nine major titles in the sport: Olympics, World Championships, World Cup, Thomas Cup, Sudirman Cup, Super Series Masters Finals, All England Open, Asian Games and Asian Championships. His behaviour at the Singapore Badminton Open on Wednesday (10 April), however, left many paying fans furious, as the Chinese superstar walked off during his opening-round tie in a huff, apparently with a thigh injury, while trailing 13-20 to Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen. “No sportsmanship!” some fans shouted as groans and jeers reverberated around the Singapore Indoor Stadium, as Lin exited with a bewildered Axelsen. The official word from organisers was that Lin retired due to spasms in his left thigh muscle, but the 35-year-old was seen disputing a line call with the umpire on the final point before indicating his retirement. Issues with side court Later, when reporters tracked him down at the stadium, he denied that he was unhappy with the umpire. Instead he took issue with having to play at the stadium’s side court, which usually has bigger draft. Yahoo News Singapore, “Every time I play, I expect a few controversial calls. But I feel, for such a big tournament like the Singapore Open, it would be better if I play at the centre court. This is my personal opinion, but it’s the organisers’ call.” He told Yahoo News Singapore, He also said that he had expended a lot of energy after winning last week’s Malaysian Open. “Now I need to conserve my fitness with Olympic qualification beginning in two weeks. I don’t wish to have any injuries at this point of time,” he said. When asked if he was disappointed with his retirement, he shrugged and said, “There’s nothing to be disappointed about.” Second time Lin pulled out of match at Singapore Open This is not the first time Lin had pulled out of a match at the Singapore Open. In 2011, he was scheduled to face compatriot Chen Jin in the men’s singles final, but withdrew at the last moment to the displeasure of the packed stadium. The Open remains one of the few tournaments he has yet to win, but he said, “This is a difficult tournament to win, but I hope to come back next year.” Meanwhile, third-seeded Axelsen improved his head-to-head record against Lin to five wins in eight encounters. However, the Dane said, “If he is really injured, that it’s a shame that our match had to end like that. I wish him a quick recovery. “But if he was not injured and it was because of bad umpire calls, then I think it’s a shame for our sport.” Tight contests with top playing field at Open Lin’s controversial exit overshadowed the day’s proceedings, as the 4,000-strong crowd were treated to some tightly-contested matches, with a top playing field at the Open. Men’s singles world No. 1 Kento Momota needed a gruelling 75 minutes to subdue 2017 Singapore Open champion Sai Praneeth of India. There were passages when the Japanese struggled to find winning shots against his opponent, a defensive specialist, but he was eventually able to beat Praneeth, 19-21, 21-14, 22-20. It was a similar story for women’s world No. 1 Tai Tzu-ying. The 24-year-old Taiwanese had moments of sublime shot-making, but was error-prone throughout her round-of-32 clash with Zhang Beiwen from USA, before steadying herself to close out her 21-14, 10-21, 21-18 win in 44 minutes. Yahoo News Singapore that she was far from full fitness, after suffering bouts of dizziness in the past couple of days."
