Latest news with #WeiChong-TeeKaiWun
The Star
11 hours ago
- Sport
- The Star
Cheers to Wei Chong-Kai Wun for fighting on despite hostile atmosphere
National men's doubles shuttlers Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun in action against compatriots Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in the final match of Malaysian Masters at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil on Sunday. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star PETALING JAYA: Shuttlers Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun are feeling positive about their performance in the Indonesian Open despite seeing their run in the men's doubles end in the semi-finals. Wei Chong-Kai Wun were hoping to repeat or better their feat last year where they finished runners-up to China's Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang but narrowly went down 18-21, 21-12, 18-21 to homesters Sabar Gutama-Moh Reza at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta on Saturday. The world No. 7 pair had come out on top over world No. 8 Sabar-Moh at the same stage last year but the latter, spurred on by their passionate fans, exacted revenge this time. Despite the defeat, Wei Chong-Kai Wun believe they have plenty to be happy about, especially their fighting spirit in a hostile atmosphere. In the deciding game, the pair were 14-20 behind but refused to give up easily and nearly pulled off a remarkable comeback by grabbing four points. "It's not easy to play in Istora. Our opponents did very well too," said Wei Chong in a post-match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF). "During the crucial points at the end, we just gave our best as we had nothing to lose. We just wanted to enjoy our game. "For us, it's important to trust each other and keep supporting each other no matter what." Kai Wun said: "Our momentum is quite stable until now and I'm very happy for this. We hope we can keep maintaining our mentality and mindset like this. "In the men's doubles, anyone can win, so every rally counts. As long as the match is not over, we have to keep trying." Wei Chong-Kai Wun have found some consistency lately after struggling to maintain their form earlier in the year. The pair captured the Indonesian Masters title atthe same venue in January but suffered early round exits in the Orleans Masters, All-England, Asian Championships and Thailand Open. Wei Chong-Kai Wun then bounced back spectacularly to win the Malaysian Masters crown and made it into the last eight in the Singapore Open before the semi-final finish in Indonesia. The duo notably pulled off an impressive win over India's former world No. 1 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty for the first time in five meetings en route to reaching the last four. Men's doubles coach Herry Iman Pierngadi is satisfied with his charges' overall showing in the tourney. "Man-Tee's performance in this tournament is quite good. For me, reaching the semi-finals in the Indonesian Open is a good achievement," said Herry. "They managed to beat the Indian pair in straight games after losing to them four times previously. "Although they lost today (Saturday) and could not make it into the final, they have gained a lot of experience playing in this tournament this time." Wei Chong-Kai Wun will next have a well-deserved break from competitions before turning their focus to the back-to-back Japan Open (July 15-20) and China Open (July 22-27).
New Straits Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Wei Chong-Kai Wun break jinx, reach Indonesia Open semi-finals
KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 7 Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun finally ended their losing streak against reigning Asian Games champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty of India to reach the semi-finals of the Indonesia Open on Friday. Wei Chong-Kai Wun defeated the world No. 22 Indian pair 21-19, 21-16 in the quarter-finals at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta. It was the Malaysians' first win in five meetings against the former world No. 1. The pair will now face either world No. 1 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani or Indonesian world No. 8 Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Moh Reza Isfahani in the last four on Saturday.
New Straits Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Wei Chong-Kai Wun cruise into second round at Indonesia Open
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Masters champions Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun began their Indonesia Open campaign on a positive note today (June 3). Last year's beaten finalists defeated the United States' world No. 33 Chen Zhi Yi-Presley Smith 21-6, 21-11 in 21 minutes in their opening round match at Istora Senayan in Jakarta. Wei Chong-Kai Wun, who are world No. 7, will be aiming to do better than their quarter-final run at the Singapore Open last week. The duo will face the winner of the clash between compatriots Arif Junaidi-Yap Roy King or France's Eloi Adam-Leo Rossi in the second round on Thursday.
New Straits Times
30-05-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Aaron-Wooi Yik strike back to reach Singapore Open semis
KUALA LUMPUR: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik gained sweet revenge by beating compatriots Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun to reach the Singapore Open semi-finals on Friday. The world No. 3 edged Wei Chong-Kai Wun 22-20, 21-17 in a tightly contested all-Malaysian quarter-final. The victory avenged their painful loss to the same pair in last week's Malaysia Masters final. However, hopes of an all-Malaysian semi-final were dashed after world No. 1 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani crashed out, losing 21-17, 21-15 to India's world No. 27 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty.
The Star
25-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Wei Chong-Kai Wun hope home success will break their tendency of being inconsistent
True heroes: Champions Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (in blue) posing with runners-up Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik after the men's doubles final. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star KUALA LUMPUR: Men's doubles shuttlers Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun hope their success in the Malaysian Masters will mark the start of a more consistent run for them on the big stage. Inconsistency has been Wei Chong-Kai Wun's biggest challenge, with the pair known for winning one or two titles a year but losing in the early rounds in the rest of their tournaments. The duo are keen to put an end to this issue and become a more solid pair. Yesterday, Wei Chong-Kai Wun captured their second title of the year in the Malaysian Masters after battling hard to upstage senior teammates Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik 21-12, 15-21, 21-16 in 50 minutes at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil. It was a statement victory for the world No. 8 as they crowned their fine run which also included stunning wins over world No. 2 home pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani (last eight) and Japan's 2021 world champions Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi (semi-finals). Wei Chong-Kai Wun also ended the long wait for a home men's doubles champion in the tourney after Goh V Shem-Lim Kim Wah were the last winners in 2013. The pair, who added to their Indonesian Masters triumph in January, were pleased with the win but believe the real test will be for them to maintain their form. Wei Chong-Kai Wun's performances dipped after their title win in Indonesia before they regained their form in the home tourney. 'After Indonesia, we lost in the early rounds in all our tournaments. We discussed how to become more consistent as for the past few years, we will win a tournament, then tend to lose in early rounds,' said Wei Chong. 'So, we have been finding ways to try to make our performances more solid. 'Our test will be in the next few tournaments because we have not managed to maintain our form before this. 'Today (yesterday), we are champions but tomorrow (today) we need to prepare again for our next tournaments,' added Wei Chong. Wei Chong-Kai Wun, who turned around their form superbly after suffering a second round defeat in the Thailand Open last week, believe that they are slowly getting better under coach Herry Iman Pierngadi. Indonesian Herry replaced Tan Bin Shen as the men's doubles head coach in the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) in February. 'We are slowly adapting to Herry's coaching methods. After losing early last week, he has been trying to improve our mental strength,' said Kai Wun. 'We did well in this tournament. We were quite consistent here, so we need to keep up this mentality. 'It's really special to win at home as many supporters came to cheer for both pairs in the final. The atmosphere was great and it feels different compared to winning overseas.' Meanwhile, world No. 3 Aaron-Wooi Yik were also reasonably satisfied with their efforts after reaching three finals in just two months. The pair captured the Asian Championships last month and the Thailand Open last week and were understandably not at their best physically in the final. 'Today (yesterday), Wei Chong-Kai Wun played better than us. We made too many unforced errors and this contributed to our defeat,' said Aaron. 'Our performance here was still acceptable but we still have lots to improve.' Wooi Yik said: 'We have to admit that our condition was not 100 percent but this is a challenge every player faces. 'This is the challenge for us to get better but this is not the reason we lost. I think we can do better.' Both Wei Chong-Kai Wun and Aaron-Wooi Yik will next turn their attention to the Singapore Open which starts tomorrow. FINAL RESULTS Men's singles: Li Shifeng (Chn) bt K. Srikanth (Ind) 21-11, 21-9. Men's doubles: Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun bt Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik 21-12, 15-21, 21-16. Women's singles: Wang Zhiyi (Chn) bt Han Yue (Chn) 13-21, 21-13, 21-18. Women's doubles: Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning (Chn) bt Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian (Chn) 21-17, 21-18. Mixed doubles: Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping (Chn) bt Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin (Chn) 21-17, 14-21, 21-16.
