Different outcomes: Ng Tze Yong advances to the second round of the Thailand Open but it was the end of the road for Goh Jin Wei (below).
PETALING JAYA: It was a day of contrasting fortunes for Ng Tze Yong and Goh Jin Wei in the first round of the Thailand Open.
National men’s singles shuttler Tze Yong marched into the second round after beating India’s Orleans Masters champion Priyanshu Rajawat 21-19, 21-10 at the Huamak Indoor Stadium in Bangkok.
But independent women’s singles ace Jin Wei fell 11-21, 19-21 to Taiwan’s world No. 16 Wen Chi-hsu.
Both Tze Yong and Jin Wei were out to make amends after first-round exits at the Malaysian Masters last week.
It was a morale-boosting win for the 23-year-old world No. 24 Tze Yong, who had lost 21-17, 16-21, 13-21 to Japan’s world No. 11 Kenta Nishimoto in the home tourney.
As for world No. 30 Jin Wei, she had gone down 17-21, 21-17, 15-21 to Germany’s world No. 23 Yvonne Li at the first hurdle of the Malaysian Masters.
Jin Wei is still trying to regain full fitness after returning from colectomy surgery last year.
For Tze Yong, it will be a tough task in the second round against world No. 7 Chou Tien-chen of Taiwan.
The former has never beaten the Taiwanese after two meetings.
Tze Yong lost out 18-21, 16-21 to Tien-chen in the Malaysian Masters last year.
In their last encounter at the Swiss Open in March, the youngster was forced to pull out while trailing 11-21, 0-2 due to an inner thigh hamstring strain.
World No. 65 Leong Jun Hao also booked his spot in the second round after coming from behind to stun homester and world No. 30 Sitthikom Thammasin 16-21, 21-16, 21-12. He will play Frenchman Christo Popov next.
Meanwhile, the tournament saw its biggest upset when India’s unheralded Kiran George stunned China’s world No. 9 Shi Yuqi 21-18, 22-20.
