Who said what at the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2023 on Wednesday?
“We did better than last time we played them a few months ago. It’s a step in the right direction. It will take time to get the right level. There were a lot of rallies when we almost got them but they were able to scrape it back. They’re so fast. They’re so fast, so smart that we can’t keep up mentally; we just play into their hands a lot of the time. They’re all over the place, and that makes you wonder where the holes on court are.”
– Canadians Josephine Wu & Ty Alexander Lindeman, after losing 21-12 21-15 to Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino
“I’ve had a hamstring injury in my right leg, so I’m still recovering and I’m not at 100 per cent. This is my first time since I got injured. This is a big tournament, so I tried hard to be ready and lucky me, I won. My body is not ready enough, but I just gave my all.”
– Busanan Ongbamrungphan, after her 15-21 21-18 21-16 win over Kim Ga Eun
“We are very excited because last year we lost before making the Round of 16, but this time we made it, so we are proud. We had a few losses before we came here and we worked on correcting our mistakes with some focused training and better communication.”
– Yeung Nga Ting/Yeung Pui Lam, following their 21-18 21-8 upset of 13th seeds Gabriela Stoeva/Stefani Stoeva
“At the moment I’m disappointed to not have converted my three game points in the first game. He was very fit at the end. I have looked up to Nishimoto since I was young. I admire his speed and his technique and precision, and doesn’t make many mistakes. So today I was excited to play him.”
– Belgium’s Julien Carraggi, on his missed opportunity against Kenta Nishimoto
“I enjoyed every moment. It’s my first World Championships and I’m so glad to play her. I got nervous when I had game points in the first game, but I gained experience. I was pretty comfortable all through the match. I’ve been observing all the top players, looking at their routines before and after their matches, so I can learn from that. My favourite players are Ratchanok Intanon and Tai Tzu Ying.”
– Brazil’s Juliana Viana Vieira, on her experience of playing Pornpawee Chochuwong
“I was leading in the games; from the beginning I knew he’d defend well. On key moments I made the first mistake and he punished me. They key was to be more solid and be more patient in some rallies. The big difference is rhythm and a little power to kill the rallies. At the end, to find one push with my legs, I need to find my right rhythm. It’s tiring to play two events, but I know that since the beginning so I take responsibility for that. For me, just pleasure and a chance to play MD with my brother, so I’ll follow this path until it doesn’t have a negative impact on my men’s singles.”
– Toma Junior Popov, on 21-12 21-16 loss to Kodai Naraoka
“I feel like she’s ready for the Worlds. She felt very on. It was very hard to find gaps … and I felt I got hit by a truck. Maybe there was something I could’ve done smarter but her quality was high in every shot and it was hard to find a way. She overpowered me.”
– Iris Wang, after her loss to Carolina Marin