KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s men’s doubles pair Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi staged a remarkable comeback to secure a spot in the semi-finals of the China Open after defeating the tournament’s fourth seeds, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto, today.
The match, held at the Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium in Changzhou, saw Yew Sin-Ee Yi struggle to find their rhythm in the first set.
However, everything changed in the second set, as they rallied to push the match into a deciding rubber set, ultimately sealing victory with a score of 14-21, 21-17, 21-14.
“It’s very important for our ranking, and in every aspect, it’s good for our confidence, our ranking, and our gameplay. So, it’s a solid win.
“I think it’s quite normal in men’s doubles for the points to be really tight, no matter who we’re playing, whether it’s the first round or any other stage.
“Even when we lost a few points, we kept our focus and managed to get some points back,” said Yew Sin in a post-match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
But more importantly, this victory holds great significance for Ee Yi, as he has only recently recovered from a knee injury.
“It means a lot to me because I’ve just fully recovered from my injury. We didn’t overthink it, we just gave our all during training, so I did my best in the competition.
“Winning or losing doesn’t matter, as long as we give our best,” said Ee Yi.
Thus, they are not worried about who their opponents will be in the semi-finals, especially since one more match remains to be played between Denmark’s Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen and China’s He Ji Ting-Ren Xiang Yu.
Earlier, another men’s doubles pair, Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, the seventh seeds of the tournament, advanced to the last eight after defeating their fellow Malaysians, Man Wei Chong and Tee Kai Wun, with a score of 21-19, 21-18.
In the mixed doubles event, Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Lai pulled off a surprise victory, overcoming the host pair, Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin, in straight sets, 23-21, 21-16.
However, Hoo Pang Ron and Cheng Su Yin were unable to replicate their success, falling to Dejan Ferdinansyah and Gloria Widjaja 21-14, 21-9. — September 20, 2024