NATIONAL mixed doubles pair, Hoo Pang Ron and Cheng Su Yin can still be proud of their extraordinary feat despite ultimately losing to the hosts’ Feng Yan Tze and Huang Dong Ping, who were the top seeds of the tournament in the final of China Masters 2024, today.
This is because Pang Ron-Su Yin, who were first paired together last year, managed to drag the match to a tight deciding set that lasted 93 minutes before finally losing 23-21, 23-25 and 16-21 at the Shenzhen Gymnasium.
Meanwhile, Pang Ron admitted that entering as non-seeded players gave them an advantage without pressure, allowing them to focus fully on the game plan that had been drawn up with the coaching staff.
“Of course, we are disappointed but we really did our best today. We have no pressure, the pressure is on them, we just fight what we can.
“We have our game play (but) maybe in crucial time they are more experience, their game play changes very fast, we couldn’t get strong points. Happy that we can start more confidently and prepare for next year,” he said in an audio recording shared by Badminton World Federation (BWF).
The runner-up title at China Masters, a Super 750 tournament, is the biggest achievement in their careers after only winning the title at the Malaysia International Challenge 2023.
Hoo Pang Ron and Cheng Su Yin, ranked 23rd in the world, began their advance by defeating Liu Kuang Heng-Jheng Yu Chieh of Taiwan 21-17, 21-12 before surprising the host pair and the tournament’s second seeds, Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin, 16-21, 21-14, 21-19.
They then defeated Chen Cheng Kuan-Hsu Yin Hui of Taiwan, 21-10, 21-16 in the quarter-finals and defeated world number seven pair, Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet, 21-14, 17-21, 21-19 in the semi-finals.
