Close call: Tan Kian Meng (left) and Lai Pei Jing beat Mathias Thyrri-Amalie Magelund of Denmark 21-19, 18-21, 21-19 to avoid another first-round exit.
PETALING JAYA: Independent pair Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing flirted with danger but avoided a fourth straight first-round exit to advance to the second round of the Indonesian Masters in Jakarta yesterday.
Kian Meng-Pei Jing, who were ranked world No. 5 in 2022, have been hit by poor form and are currently languishing at No. 25.
They did not get past the opening round in their last three tournaments – China Masters last year and the Malaysia and Indian Opens over the last two weeks – and they desperately needed to do something to stop the rot.
Kian Meng-Pei Jing almost threw it away against world No. 22 Mathias Thyrri-Amalie Magelund of Denmark before securing a 21-19, 18-21, 21-19 win in 65 minutes.
The Malaysian had taken an 18-9 lead in the first game before closing it 21-19 while also securing a similar win in the third game despite leading 15-10.
Kian Meng said they did not manage to play to their best ability and there is plenty of room for improvement.
“We have not been able to play to our form and this is not what we have been achieving in training. We can perform better than this,” said Kian Meng.
“We made too many unforced errors and could not execute our game plan effectively. It is important to get our game plan right.”
Having broken the first-round jinx, they now have the chance of reaching the quarter-finals as they will face fellow independent pair Chan Peng Soon-Chew Yee See in the second round today.
Peng Soon-Yee See overcame Vincent Chiu-Jenny Gai of the United States 21-17, 21-11 in their opening match yesterday.
Malaysia generally had a good day in the mixed doubles as world No. 14 Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie defeated Thailand’s Ruttanapak Oupthong-Jheinicha Sudjaipraparat 21-15, 21-15 to advance to the second round.
However, they will have an uphill task against world No. 7 Kim Won-ho-Jeong Na-eun of South Korea, who beat Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) pair Choong Hon Jian-Go Pei Kee 19-21, 30-28, 21-13, in the second round today.
Top BAM pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Eei Wei also advanced after receiving a walkover from Taiwan’s Ye Hong-wei-Lee Chia-hsin yesterday.
The Malaysian world No. 9 can fancy their chances of advancing to the last eight as they face Indonesians Rehan Naufal-Lisa Ayu in the second round.
Meanwhile, independent men’s doubles pair Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi advance to the second round after beating Ondrej Kral-Adam Mendrek of the Czech Republic 21-10, 21-11. They will play Sabar Karyaman-Moh Reza Pahlevi of Indonesia for a pace in the last eight today.
