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New Straits Times
11 hours ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Azriyn-Wee Kiong stage late fightback against Indonesian duo
KUALA LUMPUR: Unforced errors almost ruined independent pair Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong's run at the Macau Open on Thursday, before they recovered to set up an all-Malaysian quarter-final showdown against Wan Arif Junaidi-Yap Roy King. World No. 23 Azriyn-Wee Kiong were stretched to the limit by Indonesia's world No. 136 Putra Erwiansyah-Daniel Marvino before securing a 21-14, 15-21, 21-17 win in a 53-minute second-round match. Wee Kiong said that they cannot afford to do the same in their maiden clash against Arif–Roy King, who are on a high after receiving a late BWF invite on Tuesday to compete at the World Championships. World No. 24 Arif-Roy King checked into the last eight with a 21-18, 21-18 win over India's No. 35 Pruthvi Roy-Sai Prateek. "Today, we actually had a difficult time against the Indonesian pair and made some unforced errors. Hopefully, this won't happen tomorrow," said the 35-year-old Wee Kiong. "We have to focus on regaining our rhythm." The veteran pair had been on a roll prior to the Macau Open, as they made the quarter-finals of the Japan Open - their best result in a Super 750 event - a fortnight ago, before losing in three games to world No. 7 compatriots Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun. They then exited the second round of the China Open last week. Meanwhile, world No. 52 Choong Hon Jian-Haikal Nazri put their injury troubles aside by reaching their first quarter-final after beating Japan's world No. 90 Tori Aizawa-Daisuke Sano 21-14, 21-19. Hon Jian-Haikal will play either India's world No. 9 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty or Japan's world 89 Kakeru Kumagai-Hiroki Nishi in the last eight. Goh V Shem - a former world No. 1 and 2016 Olympic silver medallist with Wee Kiong - reached the last eight with his South Korean partner Cho Sol Gyu. Playing in their fifth tournament together, world No. 148 V Shem–Sol Gyu defeated Indonesia's world No. 50 Rahmat Hidayat-Yeremia Rambitan 21-18, 21-18 to set up a last-eight showdown against world No. 8 Sabar Karyaman-Moh Reza Isfahani of Indonesia on Friday. However, independent world No. 69 Chia Weijie-Lwi Sheng Hao's run came to an end after losing to Hong Kong's world No. 106 Hung Kuey Chun-Lui Chun Wai 15-21, 21-13, 21-18 in the second round. In the women's doubles, Malaysia's campaign ended in the second round after world No. 18 Go Pei Kee-Teoh Mei Xing lost 21-15, 22-24, 21-15 to Taiwan's world No. 135 Lin Chih Chun-Lin Wan Ching, while 224th-ranked Cheng Su Hui-Tan Zhing Yi lost 21-17, 21-17 to 12th-ranked Taiwan pair Hsieh Pei Shan-Hung En Tzu. Women's singles world No. 47 Goh Jin Wei stretched China's world No. 5 Chen Yu Fei before suffering a 14-21, 21-9, 21-18 defeat in the second round.


New Straits Times
19 hours ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Tang Jie-Ee Wei advance, compatriots falter
KUALA LUMPUR: Top seeds Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei were in cruise control as they eased into the quarter-finals of the Macau Open on Thursday with a straight-game win over China's Li Hong Yi-Huang Ke Xin. The world No. 3, who are gunning for their first title of the season, barely broke a sweat in their 21-18, 21-14 victory. Despite consistently reaching the business end, Tang Jie-Ee Wei have fallen in the semi-finals four times this year — at the Malaysia Open, India Open, Indonesia Open and Japan Open. A triumph in Macau, albeit at Super 300 level, would serve as a much-needed morale booster ahead of the Paris World Championships from Aug 25-31. They will next face Indonesia's world No. 25 Adnan Maulana-Indah Cahya Sari Jamil, new opponents for the Malaysians. While Tang Jie-Ee Wei are the favourites on paper, Indonesian pairs have historically proven to be unpredictable and dangerous. World No. 16 and last year's semi-finalists Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin crashed out in disappointing fashion to Denmark's Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Bøje, losing 21-16, 21-16. Although the Danes are a capable duo, Pang Ron-Su Yin were expected to have the upper hand, particularly with Christiansen only just returning from a one-year suspension for anti-doping violations. The ban forced the Danish pair to miss the Paris Olympics despite being ranked No. 11 in the world prior to their withdrawal. The early exit in Macau marked the sixth straight tournament where Pang Ron-Su Yin have failed to progress beyond the last 16. In another second-round match, Loo Bing Kun-Go Pei Kee put up a commendable fight before falling 21-9, 20-22, 21-11 to Indonesia's sixth seeds Amri Syahnawi-Nita Violina Marwah.


The Star
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Yew Sin-Ee Yi suffer early exit in Macau
PETALING JAYA: Men's doubles shuttlers Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi's recent run of good results came to a halt after the pair crashed out of the Macau Open. Yew Sin-Ee Yi were hoping to continue their encouraging form after making it into the semi-finals and quarter-finals of the Japan Open and China Open respectively over the past two weeks but were left disappointed after narrowly going down 15-21, 21-16, 21-23 to Indonesia's Rahmat Hidayat-Yeremia Rambitan in the first round at the Macau East Asian Games Dome yesterday. It was also heartbreak for world junior champions Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing after the duo lost 17-21, 16-21 to another Indonesian pair and top seeds Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza. There were better fortunes though for Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi when they defeated China's Ren Xiangyu-Sun Wenjun 21-15, 21-16. Meanwhile, in the women's doubles, Teoh Mei Xing-Go Pei Kee easily overcame India's Apoorva Gahlawat-Sakshi Gahlawat 21-8, 21-11 and will take on the winners of the all-Taiwanese clash between Lin Chih-chun-Lin Wan-ching and Chen Yu-hsuen-Liu Chiao-yun next. Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting, though, suffered an early exit after losing 13-21, 11-21 to Americans Lauren Lam-Allison Lee. Promising youngsters Dania Sofea Zaidi-Low Zi Yu also made a good start in their World Tour debut by making it into the main draw after beating Taiwan's Chou Yun-an-Huang Le Xin 21-17, 21-17 in the qualifying round. Dania-Zi Yu showed great resilience by bouncing back quickly after their disappointing quarter-final exit in the recent Asian Junior Championships in Solo, Indonesia. 'We are very excited to compete in our first World Tour competition,' said Dania. 'We never expected to qualify for this tournament as our rankings are still quite low. So, we are looking forward to playing against higher ranked pairs in the main draw.' Dania-Zi Yu are currently ranked 211th in the world and have a tougher task in the first round against Japan's world No. 63 Kaho Osawa-Mai Tanabe. Joining them in the main draw are Cheng Su Hui-Tan Zhing Yi, who had to dig deep to come away with a 21-14, 15-21, 21-15 win over Japan's Ririna Hiramoto-Kokona Ishikawa. Su Hui-Zhing Yi will next face Taiwan's Chen Su-yu-Hsieh Yi-en for a place in the quarter-finals. In the mixed doubles, Wee Yee Hern-Chan Wen Tse set-up an all-Malaysian first round clash against Loo Bing Kun-Pei Kee after coming out on top over Taiwan's Cheng Kai-wen-Liu Chiao-yun 21-8, 17-21, 21-17 in the qualifying round. RESULTS ( Malaysians Only ) Qualifying round Women's doubles: Dania Sofea Zaidi-Low Zi Yu bt Chou Yun-anHuang (Tpe) Le Xin 21-17, 21-17; Cheng Su Hui-Tan Zhing Yi bt Ririna Hiramoto-Kokona Ishikawa (Jpn) 21-14, 15-21, 21-15. Mixed doubles: Wee Yee Hern-Chan Wen Tse bt Cheng Kai-wen-Liu Chiao-yun (Tpe) 21-8, 17-21, 21-17. First round Men's doubles: Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi bt Ren XiangyuSun Wenjun (Chn) 21-15, 21-16; Rahmat Hidayat-Yeremia Rambitan (Ina) bt Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi 21-15, 16-21, 23-21, Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza (Ina) bt Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing 21-17, 21-16. Women's doubles: Teoh Mei Xing-Go Pei Kee bt Apoorva Gahlawat-Sakshi Gahlawat (Ind) 21-8, 21-11; Lauren Lam-Allison Lee (US) bt Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting 21-13, 21-11


The Star
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Back in the swing
Party time: Indonesia's Fajar Alfian (right) and Shohibul Fikri dancing in celebration after winning the China Open men's doubles final against Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in Changzhou. — AFP PETALING JAYA: Men's doubles coach Herry Iman Pierngadi believes shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik are slowly regaining their best form heading into the World Championships from Aug 25-31 in Paris. Expectations were high on world No. 2 Aaron-Wooi Yik to continue their impressive run in the Japan Open in Tokyo last week but the pair suffered a shock first-round defeat at the hands of fellow Malaysians Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi. It was the duo's second first-round exit after suffering the same fate in the Indonesian Open in Jakarta in June. While the slip in Indonesia was due to the pair's exhausting run which included three back-to-back finals where they captured the Thailand Open and Singapore Open titles and finished runners-up in the Malaysian Masters, the capitulation in Japan was more worrying. Aaron-Wooi Yik, though, proved that it was only a blip when they roared back to reach the final in China. Although the duo could not crown their great run with the title after losing 15-21, 14-21 to Indonesia's scratch pair Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri in Changzhou on Sunday, Herry is happy with his charges for bouncing back after the disappointment in Japan. 'Although they lost in the final, Aaron-Wooi Yik are getting back to their best,' said Herry. 'In the final, they lost due to Fajar-Shohibul's strategy which was spot on. The opponents controlled the net and put a lot of pressure on Aaron-Wooi Yik. 'They made it difficult for our pair to play like they did in the semi-final (against India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty). Our game plan simply didn't work this time. 'Overall, it's still a positive outing for us ahead of the World Championships,' added Herry. Herry is next looking to sharpen Aaron-Wooi Yik's game further in his bid to guide them to glory in the world meet. The pair remain Malaysia's best bet for gold in Paris. Aaron-Wooi Yik created history in 2022 by becoming the first Malaysians to capture the world title in badminton. The duo won bronze a year later in 2023 after they were denied in the last four by South Korea's Seo Seung-jae-Kang Min-hyuk, who went on to win gold. The competition was not held last year due to the Paris Olympics where Aaron-Wooi Yik came away with the bronze. Another fine outing in Paris in the world meet this time is not beyond reach for Aaron-Wooi Yik, especially under Herry, who has transformed them into multiple title winners. The pair claimed gold in the Asian Championships for the first time in April to go with their title triumphs in Thailand and Singapore and are hungry to add another world crown to their collection.


The Star
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Roy King-Arif hoping to shine in Macau Open
Malaysia men's doubles shuttlers Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King celebrates after winning over Taiwan's Lee Jhe-huei-Yang Po-hsuan during the second round of Malaysian Masters at Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil on Thursday. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star PETALING JAYA: Men's doubles shuttlers Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi have an opportunity to make their mark when they compete in the World Tour Super 300 Macau Open which starts today. Roy King-Arif, who are currently ranked No. 24 in the world, have struggled for consistency this year and suffered first-round exits in the back-to-back Japan Open and China Open over the last two weeks after losing to world No. 7 teammates Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun both times. The pair's best result this year is a semi-final finish in the Orleans Masters in March. Roy King-Arif will be keen to do better in Macau where they are seeded fourth. The duo though will face a stern challenge for the title from Indonesia's world No. 8 Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza and India's world No. 12 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty, who are seeded first and second respectively. Before that, the Malaysians have a tricky opening test against China's Ren Xiangyu-Sun Wenjun. Roy King-Arif's best result so far in their careers is a runners-up finish in the Spain Masters which was also a Super 300 event last year.