Latest news with #ThailandOpens
The Star
20-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Passionate home support galvanises Haikal-Hon Jian to slay Thai giants
Inspired duo: and Mohd Haikal Nazri in action against Thailand's Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Kittinupong Kedren. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star KUALA LUMPUR: Shuttlers Mohd Haikal Nazri-Choong Hon Jian finally had a victory to savour in the men's doubles after eight months. Haikal-Hon Jian, who have been struggling with form and fitness issues over the past few months, turned in a spirited performance to send Thailand's world No. 14 Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Kittinupong Kedren packing in the opening round at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil. Spurred on by the passionate home fans, the pair came away with an impressive 21-15, 21-18 win in 40 minutes. It was Haikal-Hon Jian's first win since they beat teammates Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani in the Korean Open first round last August. The former had suffered first-round exits in all their tournaments since then, including in the Taiwan and Thailand Opens over the past two weeks. 'Thankfully, Hon Jian and I managed to play our best game today and get the win,' said Haikal 'To be honest, I didn't expect that we could play well like this because we played badly in the Taipei and Taiwan Opens over the last two weeks. 'I was not thinking of winning or losing but I just wanted to play better. 'The home fans also supported us a lot and raised our spirits. We are happy but we still have lots to improve. Hon Jian said: 'The difference was we were more consistent today and made less mistakes compared to our previous outings. 'This win has given us more confidence as we had not won for quite some time.' Hon Jian-Haikal have another tough task next when they take on Japan's 2021 world champions Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi for a place in the last eight. There was more good news for Malaysia when Sze Fei-Izzuddin also booked their spot in the second round after beating French pair Eloi Adam-Leo Rossi 21-16, 21-13. The world No. 2 independent pair will play Taiwan's Chen Zhi-ray-Lin Yu-chieh next. The other Malaysians to make it into the second round in the men's doubles were Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun and Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong while Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi and Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub fell at the first hurdle.
![[UPDATED] Hon Jian-Haikal topple top Thai pair at Malaysia Masters [WATCH]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.nst.com.my%2Fimages%2Farticles%2FTopple_Thai_-MS2005_NSTfield_image_socialmedia.var_1747737194.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
![[UPDATED] Hon Jian-Haikal topple top Thai pair at Malaysia Masters [WATCH]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.nst.com.my%2Fassets%2FNST-Logo%402x.png%3Fid%3Db37a17055cb1ffea01f5&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
New Straits Times
20-05-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
[UPDATED] Hon Jian-Haikal topple top Thai pair at Malaysia Masters [WATCH]
KUALA LUMPUR: Men's doubles Choong Hon Jian-Haikal Nazri stunned Thailand's world No. 14 Dechapol Puaravaranukroh-Kittinupong Kedren to storm into the second round of the Malaysia Masters on Tuesday. The Malaysian world No. 41 secured a hard-earned 21-15, 21-18 win in 40 minutes at the Axiata Arena. It was Hon Jian-Haikal's first meeting against Dechapol-Kittnupong, who were semi-finalists at the Thailand Open last week. Haikal, who had been out of action since December due to a thigh injury, played in the Taiwan and Thailand Opens over the last two weeks where he and Hon Jian lost in the first round. Meanwhile, illness did not stop men's pair Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing from advancing to the main draw of the Malaysia Masters. The world No. 58 brushed aside teammates and world No. 67 Bryan Jeremy Goonting-Fazriq Razif 21-17, 21-17 in just 34 minutes in the qualifying round. Despite battling a fever, Aaron soldiered on to help Khai Xing secure their place in the Malaysia Masters main draw for the first time. The reigning world junior champions will take on Denmark's William Kryger Boe-Christian Faust Kjaer in the opening round of the main draw. The world No. 50 Danes had earlier ousted Malaysia's world No. 72 Chia Weijie-Lwi Sheng Hao 21-9, 21-10. Boe-Kjaer, notably, finished runners-up to world No. 3 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik at the Thailand Open final on Sunday. "I got the fever yesterday (Monday), but I never thought of withdrawing from the tournament," said Aaron. "Before the match, I felt a little tired, but stepping onto the court and seeing all the fans gave me energy." Khai Xing said that facing fellow Malaysians came with its own set of challenges. "It's never easy playing against teammates. They know our game inside out, and we know theirs," he said. World No. 39 men's doubles Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong advanced to the second round of the main draw after defeating Taiwan's world No. 70 Chiang Chien Wei-Wu Hsuan Yi 21-14, 21-16. They will play the winners of the clash between Denmark's world No. 1 Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen and China's world No. 29 Xie Hao Nan-Zeng Wei Han. In men's singles qualifying matches, Malaysian shuttlers fell like ten pins. World No. 77 Jacky Kok was shown the exit by world No. 92 Hu Zhe An of China, going down 22-20, 21-11. World No. 48 Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin lost to Taiwan's world No. 65 Huang Yu Kai 8-21, 21-17, 21-18. World No. 83 Tan Jia Jie also bowed out early, falling 21-17, 21-8 to Vietnam's world No. 75 Nguyen Hai Dang. There was, however, some cheer in the mixed doubles. World No. 315 Too Ming Yap-Lee Yu Shan advanced to the main draw after upsetting India's world No. 79 J. Mohit-J. Lakshita 21-15, 21-16. They will face Thailand's world No. 99 Ratchapol Makkasasithorn-Nattamon Laisuan in the first round. In women's doubles, Ho Lo Ee-Amanda Yap edged Thailand's Phattharin Aiamvareesrisakul-Sarisa Janpeng 19-21, 21-14, 22-20. However, world No. 284 Cheng Su Hui-Tan Zhing Yi were beaten 20-22, 21-13, 21-15 by Taiwan's world No. 167 Sung Yi Hsuan-Yang Yi Hsun.
New Straits Times
20-05-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Hon Jian-Haikal topple top Thai pair
KUALA LUMPUR: Men's doubles Choong Hon Jian-Haikal Nazri stunned Thailand's world No. 14 Dechapol Puaravaranukroh-Kittinupong Kedren to storm into the second round of the Malaysia Masters on Tuesday. The Malaysian world No. 41 secured a hard-earned 21-15, 21-18 win in 40 minutes at the Axiata Arena. It was Hon Jian-Haikal's first meeting against Dechapol-Kittnupong, who were semi-finalists at the Thailand Open last week. Haikal, who had been out of action since December due to a thigh injury, played in the Taiwan and Thailand Opens over the last two weeks where he and Hon Jian lost in the first round.
The Star
20-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Tze Yong relishes playing at Axiata again and wipe out past setback
KUALA LUMPUR: National singles shuttler Tze Yong is happy to be playing in front of the home fans again after coming close to giving up on the sport. He will be making his first appearance at home after a year when he takes on Hong Kong's world No. 21 Angus Ng Ka Long in the first round of the Malaysian Masters on Wednesday (May 21) at Axiata Arena in Bukit. It was at the same venue last year when suffered the back injury in the Malaysian Open first round against Japan's Koki Watanabe that saw him going through two surgeries and rehab for almost a year. "It was a very difficult time for me last year as I was struggling to recover from my back injury," said Tze Yong. "Playing badminton is my passion but there were times when I thought my career was over. "After two surgeries, the injury still did not heal and I was feeling confused. "After undergoing rehab for a year, I slowly recovered and could compete again. It feels good to get to play at home again after quite long." Tze Yong was forced to miss last year's Malaysian Masters and the home Open in January due to his injury. He shared that singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen's support helped him with his recovery and return to tournaments. Jonassen joined the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) in January. "The coach trusts me a lot. When I was injured, he gave me lots of support," said Tze Yong. "He helped to ease the pressure on me and thanks to him, I could focus on my rehab without worrying too much about my future." Tze Yong made his competitive return at the Asian Championships last month in Ningbo, China and also played in the Taiwan and Thailand Opens. He lost in the first round in the three events and is hoping to get his first win to revive his career. "I'm not feeling any pain anymore and my movement on court is getting better, so this is a positive for me although I lost all my matches so far," said Tze Yong. "For now, I'm looking at progressing in each match rather than only the results. "I feel if I can win one match, it will boost my confidence and I can regain my old form faster. "Against Angus, I'm the underdog but I will go all out to try to win." Meanwhile, Tze Yong's teammates Leong Jun Hao and Justin Hoh will also open their respective campaigns today against Ireland's Nhat Nguyen and Japan's Kodai Naraoka respectively.
