Low feeling high after earning first career title with Weijie

Valiant effort: Chia Weijie (right) and Low Hang Yee on the podium after winning the Ukraine Open.

PETALING JAYA: The smile is back on shuttler Low Hang Yee’s face after winning his first career title.

Hang Yee and his partner Chia Weijie, who are ranked 279th in the world, continued to show their prowess against higher-ranked Emil Lauritzen-Mads Vestergaard of Denmark when they scored a 19-21, 22-20, 23-21 win to lift the men’s doubles title at the Ukraine Open in Kiev on Sunday.

It was their second win against the world No. 104th. They also beat the Danes in the second round of last week’s Swedish Open before losing to Singapore’s Danny Bawa Chrisnanta-Andy Kwek Jun Liang in the final.

It was special for Hang Yee as it was his first title since joining Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) when he was 19.

“Finally, I get to taste my first title. Our opponents were leading most of the time but we never gave up. Weijie and I encouraged one another to go all the way for the win,” said the 24-year-old Hang Yee.

“I was only paired up with Weijie (22 years old) about four months ago. It’s a good start for us.

“I did not come through the Bukit Jalil Sports School but was promoted from the state (Selangor).

“The last few years with the national team has been a season of learning. I’ll continue to improve from here.”

With his former partner Ng Eng Cheong, the duo have emerged as the runners-up twice at the Lao International and Malaysia International, both in 2019.

“We’ll look forward to future tournaments with more confidence,” added Hang Yee, who trains under coach Flandi Limpele.

There was no double joy as Ong Ken Yon went down 14-21, 20-22 to Christo Popov of France in the men’s singles final.

Men’s singles: Christo Popov (Fra) bt Ong Ken Yon (Mas) 21-14 22-20

Men’s doubles: Chia Weijie-Low Hang Yee (Mas) bt Emil Lauritzen-Mads Vestergaard (Den) 19-21, 22-20, 23-21

Women’s singles: Aliye Demirbag (Tur) bt Wen Yu Zhang (Can) 21-13 21-16

Women’s doubles: Stine Kuespert (Ger) bt Emma Moszczynski (Ger) bt Mariia Stoliarenko-Yelyzaveta Zharka (Ukr) 21-18, 21-12

Mixed doubles: Jones Ralfy Jansen-Linda Efler (Ger) bt Jan Colin Volker-Stine Kuespert (Ger) 21-12 21-11.