Surprise package: Man Wei Chong (right) and Tee Kai Wun posing with their medals after winning the Taiwan Open men’s doubles title. — BWF
PETALING JAYA: Rexy Mainaky wants doubles pair Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun to aim for more success after their stunning Taiwan Open victory.
The national doubles coaching director hopes winning the title after toppling Olympic champions and home favourites Lee Yang-Wang Chi-lin in the final will be the beginning of more to come for the world No. 36 pair.
“This is a good result for them. I hope this title will give them more confidence and drive to go for more titles,” said Rexy yesterday.
In a thrilling final, Wei Chong-Kai Wun played fearlessly despite being the underdogs to emerge with a hard-fought 21-18, 11-21, 21-18 win in 54 minutes.
The pair deserve lots of plaudits for their perseverance as both had been suffering from injuries that had wrecked their hopes of challenging for a medal in the Hanoi SEA Games individual event in May.
Kai Wun had been dealing with an ankle problem while Wei Chong sustained a knee injury in the team event.
They made their comeback in the Malaysian Open and Malaysian Masters but failed to clear the early rounds of both tournaments.
It was the same story in the Singapore Open last week.
But in Taiwan, they bounced back in style and eliminated the home pairs in all the rounds to lift the title.
The win meant that the duo successfully defended the title won by Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong in 2019.
The 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled due to Covid-19.
This was also their second title of the year after capturing India’s Syed Modi International in January.
Their triumph will be a welcome boost to the national camp after the players had failed to win any World Tour title since men’s singles ace Lee Zii Jia captured the Thailand Open in May.
Meanwhile, two other home favourites – Chou Tien-chen (men’s singles) and Tai Tzu-ying (women’s singles) brought joy to their fans after emerging triumphant in their respective finals.
World No. 4 Tien-chen came from behind to beat Japan’s fast-rising Kodai Naraoka 14-21, 21-10, 21-6 in 61 minutes to defend his 2019 title.
This was also his first Open title since that triumph.
World No. 2 Tzu-ying ousted another Japanese Saena Kawakami 21-17, 21-16 to claim her third title of the year after winning the Thailand and Indonesian Opens.
It was also a good outing for Hong Kong’s Ng Tsz Yau who claimed both the women’s and mixed doubles titles with Tsang Hiu Yan and Reginald Lee respectively.
FINAL RESULTS
Men’s singles: Chou Tien-chen (Tpe) bt Kodai Naraoka (Jpn) 14-21, 21-10, 21-6.
Men’s doubles: Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun bt Lee Yang-Wang Chi-lin (Tpe) 21-18, 11-21, 21-18.
Women’s singles: Tai Tzu-ying (Tpe) bt Saena Kawakami (Jpn) 21-17, 21-16.
Women’s doubles: Ng Tsz Yau-Tsang Hiu Yan (Hkg) bt Rui Hirokami-Yuna Kato (Jpn) 21-15, 18-21, 21-19.
Mixed doubles: Reginald Lee-Ng Tsz Yau (Hkg) bt Ruttanapak Oupthong-Chasinee Korepap (Tha) 21-8, 21-9.
