Taufik Hidayat

Bao Chunlai shocked Athens Olympic gold medallist Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia to make it a Chinese double at the Japan Open Sunday after Wang Yihan won the women's crown. The unseeded Asian champion, who previously eliminated third seed Peter Gade of Denmark and Vietnam's Tien Minh Nguyen, the eighth seed, powered his way to a 21-15, 21-12 win. Earlier, defending champion Wang Yihan chalked up a 21-8, 21-9 victory over Wang Xin in an all-Chinese final to retain the women's singles title. "When I reached the final for the first time here, I was still young and I was nervous. Today, I was able ... Read Full Story

World number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia brushed aside Thailand's Boonsak Ponsana in the Japan Open on Wednesday, showing no ill-effects from a knee injury. The top seed, who said an old injury to his left knee has recently flared, needed just 34 minutes to score a 21-9, 21-15 win over the in-form China Masters finalist in the first round of the men's singles. "For sure, he (Boonsak) is a tough opponent. I just tried to keep myself calm and play my game. I tried not to lose a single point because every point is very important," said Lee, the winner here in ... Read Full Story

World number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia brushed aside Thailand's Boonsak Ponsana in the Japan Open on Wednesday, showing no ill-effects from a knee injury. The top seed, who said an old injury to his left knee has recently flared, needed just 34 minutes to score a 21-9, 21-15 win over the in-form China Masters finalist in the first round of the men's singles. "For sure, he (Boonsak) is a tough opponent. I just tried to keep myself calm and play my game. I tried not to lose a single point because every point is very important," said Lee, the winner here in ... Read Full Story

Simon Santoso continued his giant-killing run by beating fellow Indonesian defending champion Soni Dwi Kuncoro at the Japan Open badminton tournament on Friday. Unseeded Santoso -- who eliminated world number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in the third round on Thursday -- pulled off a 21-16, 21-17 victory over fifth-seeded Kuncoro in the men's singles quarter-finals. "I'm very, very happy to beat him for the first time, because he is a big senior in Indonesia," Santoso said. "I was able to keep myself calm today, while Soni made several mistakes. That resulted in this victory." Kuncoro said of his younger teammate: "He can ... Read Full Story

Top-seeded Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia moved into the men's singles third round of the World Badminton Championships with an easy 21-11, 21-14 win over Nigerian Ola Fagbemi here on Wednesday. World number one Zhou Mi of Hong Kong also found it easy, racing to a 21-11, 21-15 victory over New Zealand's Chan Ky Michelle to advance to the women's singles third round. "I don't think I was at my 100 per cent best today, but so far so good," said world number one Lee, seeking his maiden title at the championships. "I think my next match (against Tien Minh Nguyen) will be tough ... Read Full Story