Viktor Axelsen got his campaign to defend the Dubai World Superseries Finals off to winning start when he beat India’s world No 4 Kidambi Srikanth at the Hamdan Sports Complex on Wednesday.
The Danish world No 1 took just 17 minutes to clinch the opening game 21-13. He was made to fight harder in the second, which he won 21-17 in a little more than half an hour.
Earlier, Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei overcame Hong Kong’s Ng Ka Long 21-14, 21-13 in the same Group A. Shi Yuqi of China got the better of Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei 21-19, 21-17 in Group B.
In the women’s singles draw India’s PV Sindhu, silver medallist at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and the World Championship at Glasgow in August, overcame a spirited He Bingjiao of China 21-11, 16-21, 21-18 in an hour and four minutes in Group A.
Akane Yamaguchi, the top seed from Japan, earlier defeated compatriot Sayako Sato 21-12, 21-19 in the same group.
Sung Ji-hyun, the two-time runner up in Dubai, suffered a straight game loss to Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand in Group B.
Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan, defending champions in the women’s doubles category, were the high-profile casualties in the opening day’s play. They went down to compatriots Huang Yaqiong and Yu Xiaohan in straight games.
“It’s always difficult playing your compatriots,” Yaqiong said. “We train together all the time and know each other’s game. We’re still getting used to the conditions here.
“We’ve had a good year. The Superseries Finals has the best pairs in the world and winning here would be a big accomplishment.”
In another match in the same group, All England champions Chang Ye-na and Lee So-hee of Korea eased to a straight game victory over Japan’s Shiho Tanaka and Koharu Yonemoto.
“When we saw our group, we knew we were in for some tough matches,” Chang said.
“It’s a good feeling to start with a victory, and it gives us confidence for the matches ahead. It’s been a while since we’ve won a Superseries, and we’re hoping to rediscover the winning feeling.
“But there’s still some way to go before we can think of that. There are some strong pairs in our group. We’re just happy that we had a quick win today.”
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Read more
Axelsen expects a 'tough time' defending Dubai badminton title
PV Sindhu hopes to round off her successful season 'on a high'
In pictures: Axelsen and Tai best at Dubai tournament last year
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The top two seeds in the men’s doubles Marcus Gideon and Kevin Sukamuljo of Indonesia made short work of Denmark’s Mads Conrad-Petersen and Mads Kolding 21-6, 21-16 in Group A.
“The Danes are tall and their attack is quite steep. Our defence was tested today,” Gideon said.
“Usually it’s difficult to find rhythm early in the tournament, but today we were able to get going from the start.”
Expect more action from the competition on Thursday and Friday from 9am-noon, and 1-9pm. The semi-finals will be played on Saturday from 10am-3pm and 4-9pm. The finals will be played on Sunday from 1-8pm.
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Men’s singles:
Group A
Lee Chong Wei (MAS) bt Ng Ka Long Angus (HK) 21-14, 21-13
Viktor Axelsen (DEN) bt Kidambi Srikanth (IND) 21-13, 21-17
Group B
Shi Yuqi (CHN) bt Chou Tien Chen (TPE) 21-19, 21-17
Women’s singles:
Group A
Akani Yamaguchi (JPN) bt Sayaka Sato (JPN) 21-12, 21-19
PV Sindhu (IND) bt He Bingjiao (CHN) 21-11, 16-21, 21-18
Group B
Ratchanok Intanon (THA) bt Sung Ji-hyun (KOR) 21-19, 21-16
Men’s doubles:
Group A
Marcus Gideon/Kevin Sukamuljo (INA) bt Mads Conrad-Petersen/Mads Kolding (DEN) 21-6, 21-16
Takeshi Kamura/Keigo Sonoda (JPN) bt Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen (CHN) 21-17, 21-17
Group B
Liu Cheng/Zhang Nan (CHN) bt Lee Jhe Huei/Lee Yang (TPE) 21-19, 24-26, 21-14
Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen (DEN)/ bt Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi (JPN) 21-18, 21-14
Women’s doubles
Group A
Chang Ye-na/Lee So-hee (KOR) bt Shiho Tanaka/Koharu Yonemoto (JPN) 21-16, 21-10
Huang Yaqiong/Yu Xiaohan (CHN) bt Cheng Qingchen/Jia Yifan (CHN) 21-14, 16-21, 21-19
Group B
Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hiroto (JPN) bt Hsu Ya Ching/Wi Ti Jung (TPE) 21-13, 21-13
Kamilla Juhl/Christinna Pedersen (DEN) bt Jung Kyung-Eun/Shin Seung-Chan (KOR) 21-18, 21-10
Group A
Tang Chun Man/Tse Ying Suet (HK) bt Praveen Jordan/Debby Susanto (INA) 21-13, 14-21, 21-16
Group B
Wang Yilyu/Huang Dongping (CHN) bt Tan Kiang Meng/Lai Pe Jing (MAS) 21-12, 21-11
Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir (MAS) bt Chris Adcock/Gabrielle Adcock (ENG) 21-18, 18-21, 21-14
The years Ramadan fell in May
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Match statistics
Dubai Sports City Eagles 8 Dubai Exiles 85
Eagles
Try: Bailey
Pen: Carey
Exiles
Tries: Botes 3, Sackmann 2, Fourie 2, Penalty, Walsh, Gairn, Crossley, Stubbs
Cons: Gerber 7
Pens: Gerber 3
Man of the match: Tomas Sackmann (Exiles)
How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries
• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
• Libraries are free to visit and visitors can consult books, use online resources and study there. Most are open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, closed on Fridays and have variable hours on Saturdays, except for Qasr Al Watan which is open from 10am to 8pm every day.
• In order to borrow books, visitors must join the service by providing a passport photograph, Emirates ID and a refundable deposit of Dh400. Members can borrow five books for three weeks, all of which are renewable up to two times online.
• If users do not wish to pay the fee, they can still use the library’s electronic resources for free by simply registering on the website. Once registered, a username and password is provided, allowing remote access.
• For more information visit the library network's website.
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
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The specs
Price: From Dh529,000
Engine: 5-litre V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 520hp
Torque: 625Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.8L/100km
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
If you go...
Etihad flies daily from Abu Dhabi to Zurich, with fares starting from Dh2,807 return. Frequent high speed trains between Zurich and Vienna make stops at St. Anton.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
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Scoreline
Syria 1-1 Australia
Syria Al Somah 85'
Australia Kruse 40'
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday Athletic Bilbao v Celta Vigo (Kick-off midnight UAE)
Saturday Levante v Getafe (5pm), Sevilla v Real Madrid (7.15pm), Atletico Madrid v Real Valladolid (9.30pm), Cadiz v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday Granada v Huesca (5pm), Osasuna v Real Betis (7.15pm), Villarreal v Elche (9.30pm), Alaves v Real Sociedad (midnight)
Monday Eibar v Valencia (midnight)
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000
On sale: now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
