KUALA LUMPUR: Seven national representatives advanced to tomorrow’s (Jan 11) second round of the 2024 Malaysia Open badminton championships after clinching victories today and yesterday (Jan 9).
Mixed doubles pair Chan Peng Soon-Cheah Yee See were the last national representatives to move into the last 16 after fighting back from a game down to beat Taiwan’s Chang Ko-Chi-Lee Chih Chen 11-21, 26-24, 21-8 in a 63-minute titanic tussle tonight.
Peng Soon said although they fumbled at the beginning, the vociferous support of the home fans spurred them on to victory.
The professional shuttlers, however, can expect a tough time from fifth seeds Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin, who defeated their China compatriots Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi 21-18, 21-16.
Earlier, top national men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik also had to stage a comeback to seal their place in the second round, defeating Denmark’s Rasmus Kjaer-Frederik Sogaard 20-22, 21-13, 21-13.
The 2022 world champions will take on compatriots Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, who had disposed of Thais Supak Jomkoh-Kittinupong Kedren 21-17, 22-20 in their opening-round clash, for a place in the quarter-finals.
Malaysia will have another pair in the second round of the mixed doubles after Chen Tan Jie-Toh Ee Wei disposed of French pair Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue 21-17, 21-18 to set up a date with Japan’s Hiroki Midorikawa-Natsu Saito.
In women’s singles, former junior world champion Goh Jin Wei downed Taiwan’s Sung Shuo Yun 21-18, 21-11 and will be up against seventh seed Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia in the next round.
Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (men’s doubles) and Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie (mixed doubles) confirmed their slots in the second round yesterday.
It was the end of the road for Malaysia in women’s doubles after all three pairs crashed out today, with Anna Cheong-Teoh Mei Xing losing to world number two Baek Ha Na-Lee So Hee of South Korea 14-21, 13-21; Go Pei Kee-Low Yeen Yuan going down 13-21, 13-21 to China’s fifth-seeded Zhang Shu Xian-Zheng Yu; and Vivian Hoo-Lim Chiew Sien capitulating 15-21, 16-21 to Li Wen Mei-Liu Xuan Xuan, also of China.
Malaysia’s challenge in men’s singles also came to an abrupt end when Ng Tze Yong had to concede a walkover after suffering back pain when trailing 8-12 against Koki Watanabe of Japan today after Lee Zii Jia lost to China’s Lu Guang Zu yesterday.–Bernama
