PETALING JAYA: Nova Armada has called on independent men’s singles shuttler Cheam June Wei to adopt a patient approach to upstage Hong Kong’s Angus Ng Ka Long in the second round of the Thailand Masters today.
Yesterday, world No. 44 June Wei stunned homester and world No. 30 Kantaphon Wangcharoen 21-18, 21-17 at the Nimibutr National Stadium in Bangkok.
While happy with his charge’s performance, the Indonesian coach believes June Wei still has room for improvement and faces a tougher task against Angus, whom he lost to recently in the first round of the Indonesian Masters.
“June Wei took his chances well against the Thai. Honestly, he should be winning these matches.
“His confidence is good now but he still needs to work on his stamina. Against Angus, he needs to be patient.
“Angus is a defensive player and likes to play long rallies. So, it’s not easy to score quick points,” said Nova.
Meanwhile, Ng Tze Yong also made it to the second round after beating Brazil’s Ygor Coelho 21-19, 21-10.
The Badminton of Association of Malaysia player will now face South Korea’s Heo Kwang-hee for a place in the quarter-finals.
Independent player Soong Joo Ven’s campaign though is over after he fell 16-21, 25-23, 20-22 to Hong Kong’s Chan Yin Chak.
In women’s singles, Malaysia’s challenge also ended after S. Kisona, who was playing for the first time since turning professional, went down 19-21, 21-15, 12-21 to home player Pornpicha Choeikeewong.
In men’s doubles, independent pair Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong showed great composure to overcome Indonesia’s Sabar Karyaman-Moh Reza 27-25, 21-16.
However, they have an uphill task in the next round against another Indonesian pair and 2022 All-England champions Shohibul Fikri-Bagas Maulana.
Meanwhile, Chan Peng Soon-Cheah Yee See had to dig deep before coming away with a 18-21, 21-19, 21-15 win over Taiwan’s Chang Ko-chi-Lee Chih-chen in the mixed doubles.
The world No. 40 will take on Indonesian qualifiers Amri Syahnawi-Winny Oktavina in the second round.
