Tough fight: Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun beat Denmark’s Andreas Sondergaard-Jesper Toft 17-21, 21-10, 21-14.
PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles pair Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun broke their run of consecutive first-round defeats at the Malaysian and Indian Opens as they advanced to the second round of the Indonesian Masters in Jakarta yesterday.
However, it was a shaky win as the world No. 19 came from a game down to beat 51st-ranked Andreas Sonder–gaard-Jesper Toft of Denmark 17-21, 21-10, 21-14.
Kai Wun said they took time to adjust to the draught at the famous Istora Senayan and will be aiming to get better with each match.
“We lost in the first round of the first two tournaments but we will try to do better here,” said Kai Wun.
“We didn’t adjust to the court well and made many unforced errors in the first game. However, we started playing our normal game after that and things started becoming easier for us.”
In the Malaysian Open, Wei Chong-Kai Wun lost to China’s world No. 2 Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang and stumbled against former world No. 1 Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto of Indonesia in India.
Meanwhile, women’s doubles duo Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah should clear their first-round match against new China pair Keng Shuliang-Zhang Chi.
In the mixed doubles, Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei should tread with caution against Taiwan’s Ye Hong-wei-Lee Chia-hsin in their first-round tie while independent pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie are expected to get past Thailand’s Ruttanapak Oupthong-Jhenicha Sudchai–praparat in their opening match today.
In the men’s singles qualifying rounds, Leong Jun Hao was fighting against himself more than his Brazilian opponent Ygor Coelho as the Malaysian overcame some tense moments to advance to the main draw yesterday.
Qualifying rounds have always been a challenge as players need to win two matches in the space of less than six hours and this would increase the physical and mental pressure on them.
Jun Hao, the world No. 37, defeated Jason Teh of Singapore 21-12, 21-19 in the first round of the qualifiers and this was followed by a 15-21, 22-20, 21-16 win over Coelho to secure his spot in the main draw.
Jun Hao said he felt some tightness in his back after the first match but managed to overcome the physical stress and the unorthodox playing style of the Brazillian to survive the qualifiers.
“I guess I overcame myself today. My back felt tight after the first match and his (Coelho’s) style of play is very difficult to read and I had to really fight hard to win the match,” said Jun Hao.
“Before the second match, I had requested the medical (staff) for the (painkiller) spray and it helped to make my back feel more comfortable.
“This is performance is good as Coelho is not easy to beat and I hope I can continue playing well here.”
Jun Hao will have a tough opening match in the main draw today where he will play world No. 11 Kenta Nishimoto of Japan.
World No. 10 Lee Zii Jia will also open his campaign today as he has a tricky first-round encounter against India’s world No. 25 K. Srikanth.
Meanwhile, Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) player K. Letshanaa also survived the qualifying rounds to join independent player Goh Jin Wei in the main draw.
Letshanaa, unlike Jun Hao, only needed to play one match in the qualifier where she defeated Thailand’s Pornpicha Choeikeewong 16-21, 21-14, 21-11.
In the main draw, Letshanaa will play Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia while Goh Jin Wei faces an uphill task against world No. 8 Han Yue of China. First Round Men’s doubles: Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun bt Andreas Sondergaard-Jesper Toft (Den) 17-21, 21-10, 21-14; Xie Haonan-Zeng Weihan (Chn) bt Nur Azryn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong 21-19, 21-19.
Qualifying First round
Men’s singles: Leong Jun Hao bt Jason The (Sin) 21-12, 21-19.
Women’s singles: K. Letshanaa bt Pornpicha Choeikeewong (Tha) 16-21, 21-14, 21-11.
Second round
Men’s singles: Leong Jun Hao bt Ygor Coelho (Bra) 15-21, 22-20, 21-16.
RESULTS
