KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 — Professional mixed doubles pair, Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying kept their 2020 Olympics qualifying hopes alive after advancing to the semifinals of the Indonesian Open today.
The 2016 Rio Olympics silver medal winning pair defeated the home pair of Tontowi Ahmad-Winny Oktavina Kandow 21-11, 14-21, 21-14 in an exciting match that lasted for an hour at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno, Jakarta, according to Badminton World Federation (BWF) website: www.bwfbadminton.com.
The victory also was sweet revenge for Peng Soon-Liu Ying after losing to the Indonesian pair in the second round of the 2019 All England in March.
For the record, Tontowi won the 2016 Rio Olympics gold medal with former partner Liliyana Natsir, who retired in January, after defeating the Malaysian pair 21-14, 21-12 in the finals. He began partnering Winny early this year.
Fifth-seeded Peng Soon-Liu Ying will be looking forward to clinch the Indonesian Open title to become the first ever Malaysians to win the tournament’s mixed doubles event, after losing to their nemesis, Tontowi- Liliyana last year.
However, Peng Soon-Liu Ying are set to face an uphill task against world number two, Wang Yilyu-Huang Dongping of China in the last four stage tomorrow.
The Chinese pair cruised to the semifinals after eliminating another Malaysian pair, Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Jamie Lai 21-4, 21-15. — Bernama
