KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian mixed doubles players kicked off their Kumamoto Masters Japan campaign in style by recording victories against their opponents at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium today.
The top mixed doubles pair, Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei, advanced to the second round after defeating Chinese Taipei’s Wei Chun-wei and Nicole Gonzales Chan.
The world number 10 pair easily cruised past the 86th-ranked Chinese Taipei shuttlers, winning 21-11, 21-10.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei will next play compatriots Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Lai, who took 24 minutes to topple Scotland’s Adam Hall and Julie Macpherson 21-11, 21-11 in the first round.
In another mixed doubles match, Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing had to battle hard against Chinese Taipei’s Chen Zhi-ray and Yang Ching-tun to earn a spot in the second round.
The 21st-ranked duo had a scare in the first set against the Chinese Taipei shuttlers but rallied to win the match 20-22, 21-13, 21-15.
Their next challenge will be against South Korea’s world number sevens Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun.
However, the women’s doubles pair of Anna Cheong-Teoh Mei Xing faced an unfortunate setback when they were forced to retire during the decisive rubber game against Japan’s Sayaka Hobara-Yui Suizu.
The untimely exit was attributed to an apparent hamstring injury suffered by Anna.
The 67th-ranked shuttlers exhibited a strong start in the opening game by taking the lead 21-14 before losing in the second and third rounds, 19-21, 7-15, in a match that lasted for 58 minutes. – November 15, 2023