KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 — National badminton ace Datuk Lee Chong Wei eased into the second round of the Celcom Axiata Malaysia Open Championship at the Axiata Arena, Kuala Lumpur Sports City, in Bukit Jalil
Chong Wei took only 33 minutes to defeat opponent Kazumasa Sakai of Japan in the opening match of the men’s singles category.
He next plays Lee Hyun Il of South Korea who defeated Thai player Suppanyu Avihingsanon 21-18, 21-13.
“I’m happy with today’s performance, the first round of any tournament is not easy as young players or non-seeded players are more energetic and they can often spring up a surprise, so I need to focus on getting points quickly.
“Now, young players are my main challenge. Playing at home, I have to perform better in front of the fans. I hope in the next game I can do even better,” said Chong Wei, who has won the Malaysian Open 11 times.
Meanwhile, young women’s singles player Goh Jin Wei beat Pai Yu Po from Taiwan 21-13, 21-17, and will either face seventh seed Sung Ji Hyun from South Korea or Indonesia’s Fitriani.
However, luck was not on the side of national mixed doubles pairs Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lain and Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing as they were both eliminated in the first round.
Goh-Shevon lost to Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand 21-18, 15-21, 14-21 while Tan-Lai lost to fifth-seeded Zhang Nan-Li Yinhui of China, 8-21, 12-21.
Meanwhile, mixed double’s pair Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying also bowed out of the first round, losing 22-24, 9-21. — Bernama
