PETALING JAYA: World No. 10 Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong were given a scare by team-mates Chooi Kah Ming-Teo Ee Yi before prevailing in the second round of the Macau Open GP Gold.
Thien How-Wee Kiong, who narrowly missed out on a place in the Super Series Finals from Dec 11-15 in Kuala Lumpur, fought back from losing the first game to register a 14-21, 21-18, 21-19 win on Thursday.
It was a solid performance from Malaysia’s second ranked pair but the younger Kah Ming-Ee Yi deserve credit for taking the fight to their higher ranked opponents.
And Wee Kiong was quick to praise his team-mates for showing no fear in their match.
“Kah Ming-Ee Yi are our juniors but they played very well today and were not afraid of making their shots,” said Wee Kiong.
“It was actually a tough match because we train together everyday and know each other’s game quite well.
“Ultimately, when it comes to competitions, our performance on court is what matters and we were lucky to make a comeback after dropping the first game.
“It’s not our best performance and we’ll definitely need to improve in our next match. We’ll be facing a Korean pair next and it’s important not to dwell on the past.”
Thien How-Wee Kiong will be up against Kang Ji-wook-Choi Sol-kyu in the quarter-finals. The Koreans defeated Taiwan’s Lu Ching Yao-Tien Tzu Chieh 21-18, 17-21, 21-13 on Thursday.
In the men’s singles, youngsters Iskandar Zulkarnian Zainuddin and Zulfadli Zulkiffli showed their lack of quality after being brushed aside in the third round.
SEA Games-bound Iskandar was soundly beaten by Russia’s Vladimir Ivanov 21-13, 21-17 while 2011 world junior champion and independent shuttler Zulfadli was sent packing 21-11, 21-7 by South Korea’s Son Wan-ho.
Wan-ho and Ivanov will clash in the quarter-finals.
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