KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2 — National second mixed doubles pair, Tan Kian Meng/Lai Pei Jing continued their impressive run by advancing to the semifinals of the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton Championship at Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion, today.
The third seeded players received a tough fight from eighth seeds, Alfian Eko Prasetya/Annisa Saufika of Indonesia before securing a 22-20 and 24-22 win in the quarterfinal match, according to the Badminton World Federation (BWF) website, www.bwfbadminton.org.
Rio Olympics 2016 silver medallists, Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying who are the top seeds of the tournament, suffered a shocking 12-21, 22-20 and 15-21 defeat to unseeded pair, Zhang Nan/Li Yinhui of China.
Two Malaysian women’s doubles pairs also progressed to the last four after edging their respective opponents.
Second seeded pair, Vivian Hoo Kah Mun/Woon Khe Wei defeated Wen Hao Yun/Ye Jing Ya of Taiwan; 21-15 and 21-18 while Chow Mei Kuan/Lee Meng Yean edged another Taiwanese pair, Hsu Ya Ching/Wu Ti Jung; 21-12 and 21-14.
The country’s challenge in the men’s and women’s singles ended after the Malaysians lost to their respective opponents.
Former national shuttler, Chong Wei Feng lost 13-21 and 17-21 to sixth seed, Wang Tzu Wei of Taiwan in the men’s singles while the 2015 world junior champion, Goh Jin Wei was beaten by sixth seed, Chen Yufei of China, losing 14-21 and 10-21 in the women’s singles.
Malaysia’s interest in the men’s doubles fizzled out yesterday, after the three pairs fell short against their opponents in the second-round match. — Bernama
