NATIONAL men’s doubles pair Boon Xin Yuan-Goh V Shem were the only Malaysians who managed to get through the qualifying round of the 2024 Masters Malaysia 2024 at Axiata Arena here today.
The world No. 93 pair beat compatriots Beh Chun Meng-Goh Boon Zhe 21-17, 20-22, 21-18 to set up a meeting with tournament sixth seeds, Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard of Denmark in the first round of the Super 500 championship tomorrow.
Other Malaysians who played today all lost their matches, including men’s doubles pair, Chia Weijie-Liew Xun, who lost to South Koreans Kim Young Hyuk-Wang Chan 17-21, 18-21; and women’s singles player Wong Ling Ching, who lost to Taiwan’s Hung Yi Ting 21-14, 18-21, 13-21.
Three national men’s singles players, Soong Joo Ven, Ong Zhen Yi, and Cheam June Wei, also lost to their respective opponents.
Joo Ven lost 14-21, 21-13, 14-21 to Japanese Koo Takahashi, Zhen Yi lost 20-22, 14-21 to Jason Gunawan of Hong Kong, and June Wei lost to India’s Sathish Kumar Karunakaran 15-21, 19-21.
Joo Ven, who was met after his match said that he succumbed to the pressure of trying to secure easy points, resulting in unforced errors in the final game.
“It’s never easy going against South Koreans and Japanese as they are fighters. Doesn’t matter (if they’re juniors or seniors) and that’s one thing we have to learn from,” he added. – Bernama
