Different strokes: K. Letshanaa will play either India’s P.V. Sindhu or Vietnam’s Nguyen Thuy Linh for a place in the quarter-finals.
PETALING JAYA: It was mixed fortunes for singles shuttlers K. Letshanaa and Leong Jun Hao in the Indonesian Masters when the former reached the second round but the latter suffered an early exit.
In the women’s singles, world No. 59 Letshanaa was pushed all the way by Ukraine’s world No. 51 Polina Buhrova but fought hard to prevail 21-23, 21-15, 21-19 in 68 minutes at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta yesterday.
Letshanaa, who had to come through the qualifying round, will face either India’s 2019 world champion P. V. Sindhu or Vietnam’s Nguyen Thuy Linh next for a place in the quarter-finals.
The 21-year-old will be attempting to make it into the last eight in a World Tour Super 500 event for the first time.
It was disappointment though for world No. 47 independent player Goh Jin Wei after she went down 14-21, 21-19, 14-21 to Taiwan’s world No. 29 Wen Chi-hsu in 46 minutes.
Meanwhile, Jun Hao, who was Malaysia’s sole men’s singles representative in the tournament, also lost 14-21, 13-21 to China’s world No. 16 Weng Hongyang.
Leong Jun Hao lost to Weng Hongyang of China again.
The world No. 27 was hoping to avenge his defeat to the Chinese player in the Indian Open second round last week but could not find a way past the latter again and went down in 45 minutes.
Jun Hao needs to find a way to beat the left-handed Hongyang quickly after also coming second best to him in the Asia Team Championships final last year.
The 25-year-old’s only win over his rival so far came in the qualifying round in the 2022 Malaysian Masters.
The defeat in Indonesia meant that Jun Hao has lost in the early rounds in all three of his tournaments so far this year.
He went down in three games to Hongyang’s teammate Lu Guangzu in the Malaysian Open first round.
FIRST ROUND RESULTS
Malaysians only
Men’s singles: Weng Hongyang (Chn) bt Leong Jun Hao 21-14, 21-13.
Men’s doubles: Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub bt Leo Rolly-Bagas Maulana (Ina) 21-16, 21-17; Women’s singles: K. Letshanaa bt Polina Buhrova (Ukr) 21-23, 21-15, 21-19; Wen Chi-hsu (Tpe) bt Goh Jin Wei 21-14, 19-21, 21-14.
Women’s doubles: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah bt Hsu Ya-ching-Sung Yu-hsuan (Tpe) 21-16, 21-19; Paulina Hankiewicz-Kornelia Marczak (Pol) Lai Pei Jing-Lim Chiew Sien 23-21, 15-21, 21-18.
Mixed doubles: Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei bt Julien Maio-Lia Palermo (Fra) 21-14, 21-17; Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin bt Lui Chun Wai-Fu Chi Yan (Hkg) 21-14, 21-17; Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie bt Dejan Ferdinansyah-Siti Fadia Ramadhanti (Ina) 21-16, 21-15; Hiroki Midorikawa-Natsu Saito bt Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien 21-13, 21-15.
