PETALING JAYA: National men’s doubles pair Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun advanced to the second round of the Singapore Open without breaking sweat after their opponents Mark Lamsfuss-Marvin Seidel of Germany pulled out in the first round yesterday.
It could have been a tough match for them as the German pair were the champions of last year’s European Championships.
Receiving a walkover in the first round has provided a much-needed opportunity for Wei Chong-Kai Wun to be well-prepared for the second round.
Things are certainly looking up for the world No. 22 pair, who had been suffering persistent injuries and poor form since winning the Taiwan Open title last July.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun were forced to withdraw from the German Open, All-England and Swiss Open in March after the former twisted his left ankle in training.
They pulled off a few major upsets against Denmark’s world No. 11 Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, Indonesians Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan (No. 6) and another Indonesian pair Leo Rolly-Daniel Marthin (No. 9) to reach the Malaysian Masters final last month.
It was their first World Tour Super 500 final appearance and certainly a big relief after suffering first-round exits in three out of four World Tour tournaments – the Malaysian Open, Indian Open and German Open this year.
They reached the second round in the Badminton Asia Championships where they retired in the second-round match against Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi of Japan.
It will be still an uphill battle still for the Malaysians in Singapore as they are likely to face newly-crowned Thailand Masters champions Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang of China in the second round tomorrow.
Meanwhile, national men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik secured their spot in the second round after defeating China’s He Jiting-Zhou Haodong 21-16, 21-17 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium yesterday.
Aaron-Wooi Yik will face either Indonesia’s Muhammad Shohibul Fikri-Bagas Maulana or Lee Yang-Wang Chi-lin of Taiwan in the second round tomorrow.
There was no joy in the women’s doubles as Vivian Hoo-Lim Chiew Sien crashed out 12-21, 14-21 to Yuki Fukushima-Sayaka Hirota of Japan in the first round. Malaysians only FIRST ROUND Men’s doubles: Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun bt Mark Lamsfuss-Marvin Seidel (Ger) walkover; Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik bt He Jiting-Zhou Haodong (Chn) 21-16, 21-17. Women’s doubles: Yuki Fukushima-Sayaka Hirota (Jpn) bt Vivian Hoo-Lim Chiew Sien 21-12, 21-14.
