PETALING JAYA: It was relief for mixed doubles shuttlers Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin after claiming their first win of the year.
Pang Ron-Su Yin suffered first round exits in the Malaysian Open and Indian Open but bounced back to beat Hong Kong’s Lui Chun Wai-Fu Chi Yan 21-14, 21-17 in their opening match in the Indonesian Masters at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta yesterday.
The victory comes as a shot in the arm for the world No. 18 Malaysians after they struggled to replicate their impressive form last year in their first two tournaments of the year.
Pang Ron-Su Yin made heads turn when they finished runners-up to China’s world No. 1 Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping in the China Masters last November and are out to continue their run in Indonesia when they take on India’s world No. 43 Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto in the second round today.
National No. 1 Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei also reached the second round after beating French duo Julien Maio-Lia Palermo 21-14, 21-17.
World No. 3 Tang Jie-Ee Wei, who reached back-to-back semi-finals in Malaysia and India, will face homesters Jafar Hidayatullah-Felisha Alberta next for a place in the last eight.
There was also joy for world No. 4 independent pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie after they ousted new home pairing Dejan Ferdinansyah-Siti Fadia Ramadhanti 21-16, 21-15 to march into the next round.
Another home duo Marwan Faza-Aisyah Salsabila stand in the way of Soon Huat-Shevon next.
World No. 34 Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien though suffered an early exit after going down 13-21, 15-21 to Japan’s world No. 12 Hiroki Midorikawa-Natsu Saito.
