Preview of notable events this week:
● BADMINTON: Medal possibility for American Beiwen Zhang at Chinese Taipei Open
Barely days following the close of the 2019 World Championships comes the Yonex Chinese Taipei Open at the Taipei Arena with a total prize purse of $500,000. The top seeds:
Men/Singles:
1. Tien-Chen Chou (TPE)
2. Ka Long Ng (HKG)
3. Zii Jia Lee (MAS)
Men/Doubles:
1. Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Ardianto (INA)
2. Yang Lee/Chi-Lin Wang (TPE)
3. Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik (MAS)
Women/Singles:
1. Saina Nehwal (IND)
2. Michelle Li (CAN)
3. Beiwen Zhang (USA)
Women/Doubles:
1. Greysia Polii/Apriyani Rahayu (INA)
2. So-Hee Lee/Seung-Chan Shin (KOR)
3. So-Yeong Kim/Hee-Yong Kong (KOR)
Mixed Doubles:
1. Peng Soon Chan/Liu Ying Goh (MAS)
2. Seung-Jae Seo/Yoo-Jung Chae (KOR)
3. Hafiz Faisal/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja (INA)
In the women’s Singles, India’s top-seeded Nehwal withdrew, so this could be a rare chance for a medal for Zhang. She’s won three medals in World Tour events in 2018, with two silvers and a win at the India Open. Look for results here.
● FREESTYLE SKIING: Strong field for Freestyle Halfpipe World Cup at Winter Games NZ
The second half of the FIS World Cup programs at the Winter Games NZ in Cardrona comes this weekend with the Freeski Halfpipe, with an excellent field. Both of last year’s World Cup winners are in – Canadians Simon D’Artois and Cassie Sharpe, along with a big U.S. contingent that includes two-time World Champion Aaron Blunck. The 2018-19 World Cup final leaders:
Men/Freeski Halfpipe:
1. 256 Simon D’Artois (CAN)
2. 225 Nico Porteous (NZL) ~ 2018 Olympic bronze medalist
3. 210 David Wise (USA) ~ 2018 Olympic Champion
4. 178 Hunter Hess (USA)
5. 164 Thomas Krief (FRA)
+ Aaron Blunck (USA) ~ 2017-19 World Champion
Women/Freeski Halfpipe:
1. 280 Cassie Sharpe (CAN) ~ 2018 Olympic Champion; 2019 Worlds silver
2. 260 Rachael Karker (CAN)
3. 256 Kexin Zhang (CHN)
4. 180 Kelly Sildaru (EST) ~ 2019 World Champion
5. 156 Fanghui Li (CHN)
Look for results here. This is the end of the World Cup schedule in New Zealand; the season picks up again in November.
● KARATE: Fifth Karate1 Premier League tests Tokyo preparations
The fifth stop on the 2019 Karate1 Premier League schedule is also the test event for the sport, this weekend at Tokyo’s famed Nippon Budokan, which just finished hosting the 2019 World Judo Championships.
Competition will be held in 12 individual categories, with 649 total entries. The top seeds:
Men:
Kata: 1. Ryo Kiyuna (JPN); 2. Damian Quintero (ESP)
Kumite 60 kg: 1. Darkhan Assadilov (KAZ); 2. Angelo Crescenzo (ITA)
Kumite 67 kg: 1. Steven Dacosta (FRA); 2. Vinicius Figueira (BRA)
Kumite 75 kg: 1. Rafael Aghayev (AZE); 2. Bahman Asgari (IRI)
Kumite 84 kg: 1. Ugur Aktas (TUR); 2. Ivan Kvesic (CRO)
Kumite +84 kg: 1. Jonathan Horne (GER); 2. Sajad Ganjzadeh (IRI)
Women:
Kata: 1. Sandra Sanchez (ESP); 2. Kiyou Shimizu (JPN)
Kumite 50 kg: 1. Serap Ozcelik (TUR); 2. Miho Miyahara (JPN)
Kumite 55 kg: 1. Anzhelika Terliuga (UKR); 2. Tzu-Yun Wen (TPE)
Kumite 61 kg: 1. Xiaoyan Yin (CHN); 2. Merve Coban (TUR)
Kumite 68 kg: 1. Elena Quirici (SUI); 2. Kayo Someya (JPN)
Kumite +68 kg: 1. Ayumi Uekusa (JPN); 2. Titta Keinanen (FIN)
Prize money in each class will be € 750-500-250. Look for results here.
● TABLE TENNIS: Pan American Champs on in Paraguay
The ITTF Pan American Championships are underway in Asuncion (PAR), with competition through this weekend and the championship finals on Sunday (8th). The top seeds:
Men/Singles:
1. Kanak Jha (USA)
2. Gustavo Tsuboi (BRA)
3. Marcelo Aguirre (PAR)
Men/Doubles:
1. Eric Jouti/Gustavo Tsuboi (BRA)
2. Gaston Alto/Horacio Cifuentes (ARG)
3. Marcos Madrid/ricardo Villa (MEX)
Women/Singles:
1. Mo Zhang (CAN)
2. Yue Wu (USA)
3. Bruna Takahashi (BRA)
Women/Doubles:
1. Yue Wu/Lily Zhang (USA)
2. Joyce Xu/Mo Zhang (CAN)
3. Daniela Ortega/Paulina Vega (CHI)
Mixed Doubles:
1. Eric Jouti/Bruna Takahashi (BRA)
2. Horacio Cifuentes/Camila Arguelles (ARG)
3. Marcos Madrid/Yadira Silva (MEX)
Look for results here.
