Malaysia lock in final spot as doubles dominate in Macau
PETALING JAYA: The men's doubles squad have already secured a spot in the Macau Open final, even though the tournament is only at the quarter-final stage.
In Friday's (Aug 1) action at the Macau East Asian Games Dome, Mohd Haikal Nazri-Choong Hon Jian continued their impressive run by stunning second seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty with a thrilling 21-14, 13-21, 22-20 win in a gripping 60-minute battle.
They will take on fellow Malaysians Wan Arif Junaidi-Yap Roy King, who defeated seniors Nur Azriyn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong 21-12, 21-16 in another quarter-final tie.
The all-Malaysian semi-final promises to be an intriguing clash, especially as Haikal and Arif were once partners for five years and even reached the top of the world junior rankings before going their separate ways in 2023.
However, it was the end of the road for Choi Sol-gyu-Goh V Shem after they fell to Indonesia's Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza Isfahani in straight games, losing 18-21, 13-21.
Earlier in the men's singles, Malaysia's sole representative Justin Hoh pulled off a surprise by defeating 2019 World Championships bronze medallist Kantaphon Wangcharoen of Thailand 21-9, 21-18 in just 37 minutes.
Justin will face India's Tharun Mannepalli in the semi-finals on Saturday.
There was more joy in the mixed doubles camp as both Malaysian pairs secured impressive wins to reach the last four.
Top seeds Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei made short work of Indonesia's Adnan Maulana-Indah Cahya Sari Jamil, winning 21-17, 22-20, while teammates Jimmy Wong-Lai Pei Jing pulled off an upset by beating second seeds Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi 21-12, 17-21, 21-18.
In the semi-finals, Tang Jie-Ee Wei will take on Denmark's Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Boje, while Jimmy-Pei Jing will go up against Indonesia's Amri Syahnawi-Nita Marwah.
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