Polished finish – Tze Yong shines as Malaysia smash down three titles

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia ended their campaign at the Polish International Challenge in smashing fashion by bagging three titles.

Youngster Ng Tze Yong (pic) clinched his second title when he defeated two-time winner Pablo Abian of Spain 21-19,21-11 in a 52-minute men’s singles final in Gniezno yesterday.

The 20-year-old became the third Malaysian winner in the event after Liew Daren in 2015 and Tan Jia Wei in 2017.

The victory, albeit a minor one, showed Tze Yong’s transition to becoming a world-beater is very much on the right track.

He won his first at the South Australia International Challenge in September 2019 but could not build on it due to a lengthy Covid-19 pandemic break.

Tze Yong’s performance is indeed encouraging as he has continued to show that he is one of the most-improved members in the men’s singles department since winning the BAM Invitational Championships last year.

“I couldn’t be happier as I really didn’t expect to win this week, ” said Tze Yong.

“It’s been almost 15 months since I last played on the international stage, the feeling just wasn’t the same.”

Men’s pair Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun and mixed pair Choong Hon Jian-Toh Ee Wei were the other two winners as they hit the right note on their first-time combinations.

Wei Chong-Kai Wun prevailed 21-17,22-20,21-19 in a nail-biting battle against teammates Chang Yee Jun-Chia Wei Jie while Hon Jian-Ee Wei easily ousted Nicolas Mueller-Ronja Stern of Switzerland 21-16,21-12.

Finals

Men’s singles: Ng Tze Yong Mas) bt Pablo Abian (Spa) 21-19,21-11.

Men’s doubles: Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (Mas) bt Chang Yee Jun-Chia Wei Jie 21-17,20-22,21-19.

Women’s singles: Kristin Kuuba (Est) bt Tanya Hemanth (Ind) 24-22,21-14.

Women’s doubles: Bengisu Ercetin-Nazlican Inci (Tur) bt Zuzanna Jankowska-Anastasia Khomich (Pol) 21-11,21-12.

Mixed doubles: Choong Hon Jian-Toh Ee Wei (Mas) bt Nicolas Mueller-Ronja Stern (Sui) 21-16,21-12.

Semi-finals

Men’s singles: Tze Yong bt Jun Hao 21-12,21-12; Pablo Abian (Spa) bt Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin (Mas) 21-14,16-14 ret.

Men’s doubles: Yee Jun-Wei Jie bt Milosz Bochat-Adam Cwalina (Pol) 20-22,21-10,21-13; Wei Chong-Kai Wun bt Robert Cybulski-Przemyslaw Szydlowski (Pol) 21-10,21-12

Women’s singles: Tanya Hemanth (Ind) bt Gayle Mahulette (Ned) 15-21,21-19,21-15; Kristin Kuuba (Est) bt K. Sri Krishna Priya (Ind) 21-15,21-15.

Women’s doubles: Bengisu Ercetin-Nazlican Inci (Tur) bt Johanna Magnusson-Clara Nistad (Swe) 21-17,21-19; Zuzanna Jankowska-Anastasia Khomich (Pol) bt Kati Kreet Maran-Helina Ruuel (Est) 21-18,16-21,21-18.

Mixed doubles: Hon Jian-Ee Wei bt Milosz Bochat-Wiktoria Adamek (Pol) 21-12,21-6; Nicolas Mueller-Ronja Stern (Sui) bt Rodion Kargaev-Viktoriia Vorobeva (Rus) 21-17,13-21,21-14.

RESULTS