NATIONAL mixed doubles pairs will compete against each other for a quarter-final spot at the Hong Kong Open 2025.
Professional pair Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Lai Jemie will face fellow Malaysians Hoo Pang Ron and Cheng Su Yin in tomorrow’s second round match.
The seventh-seeded Soon Huat-Shevon recovered from a first-game loss to defeat Taiwanese pair Lin Bing-Wei and Lin Jhih Yun 13-21, 23-21, 21-8 in 41 minutes.
Pang Ron-Su Yin needed only 24 minutes to overcome Ukraine’s Oleksii Titov and Yevheniia Kantemyr with a convincing 21-14, 21-14 victory.
This encounter marks the third meeting between these Malaysian pairs, with both teams currently holding one victory each in their head-to-head record.
In men’s doubles action, national pair Choong Hon Jian and Muhammad Haikal Nazri emerged victorious from a one-hour battle against South Korea’s Kim Gi Jung and Kim Sa Rang.
They secured their win with scores of 21-11, 16-21, 21-18 to advance in the tournament.
Hon Jian-Muhammad Haikal will next face compatriots Wan Junaidi Wan Arif and Yap Roy King in another all-Malaysian clash.
Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King created an upset by defeating third-seeded Danish pair Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 21-19, 23-21 yesterday.
Professional men’s singles player Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin also progressed to the second round after a comeback victory.
The world number 43 Malaysian overcame Taiwan’s world number 26 Chi Yu Jen with scores of 15-21, 21-18, 21-15.
Aidil now faces a challenging match against sixth seed Christo Popov of France in the next round.
Popov advanced after defeating Indonesia’s Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 19-21, 21-17, 21-19 in his opening match.
National women’s singles player K. Letshanaa saw her campaign end in the opening round against Canada’s Wen Yu Zhang.
Letshanaa lost her match with scores of 22-24, 16-21, concluding her participation in the tournament. – Bernama
