KUALA LUMPUR: The ball is now in world No. 1 Shi Yuqi's court to end China’s five-year drought in the men’s singles at the Malaysian Open, following the shock early exit of two time champion Viktor Axelsen in the first round on Tuesday (Jan 7).
Fourth seed Axelsen was stunned by Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu, who triumphed with a 17-21, 17-21.
Yuqi had earlier beaten Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto in a 77-minute thriller, winning 21-16, 20-22, 21-16.
While he has not openly declared his intention to claim the title this year, his status as the current world number one makes him a strong contender to win this year championship.
The last Chinese player to clinch the men’s singles title at the Malaysian Open was the legendary Lin Dan in 2019.
Yuqi, the runner-up of last year’s edition after falling to Anders Antonsen of Denmark in the final, achieved his best result at the Malaysian Open since making his debut in 2017.
Despite one of the strongest challengers being eliminated, further enhancing his chances to redeem last year’s disappointment, Yuqi remains firm in his stance that his priority now is to break his limits and improve his mentality on the court.
"Looking back at last year, there were many ups and downs in my journey, including times when I mentioned not finding my goal.
"I just want to perform normally and maintain a mindset of trying to break through my limitations on the court. Even in difficult situations, like today (yesterday) when there were many factors, such as the opponent's patience and starting early in the morning.
"I think if you maintain the right mentality and actively work to solve problems, things might turn out better," said Yuqi in a post match interview.
Yuqi's humble approach to this tournament mirrors his mindset during last year's Indonesian Open, where he emerged as the champion after defeating Antonsen in the final.
Even sweeter, it was a historic victory for Yuqi as he ended China’s 34-year drought in the men's singles at the tournament, with the last Chinese player to win being Xiong Guobao in 1989.
"Actually, regarding last year's Indonesian Open, I never really thought about winning the title. It just happened naturally by fighting hard in every match, and eventually winning the final.
"After winning, people mentioned that it had been a long time since we won the Indonesian Open.
"In fact, in every open tournament, all players are almost on par with each other, it just depends on who performs better on the day. Of course, it would be better if we could win the championship," he added.
