PETALING JAYA: The tricky drift at the Changzhou Olympic Sports Centre is proving to be a challenge for many shuttlers, especially the Malaysians chasing a spot in the China Open semi-finals today.
World No. 2 men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik struggled at times to adapt to the conditions but made quick adjustments to pull off a 21-17, 21-18 win over French brothers Christo and Toma Junior Popov to reach the quarter-finals yesterday.
They will play compatriots Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, thus assuring at least one ticket for Malaysia in the semis.
“I think we just increased our focus and speed because in the second game, they had a good lead against us,” said Wooi Yik in a post-match interview with the Badminton World Federation.
“We needed to control the wind better, especially at the front court. We made too many errors, and that’s something we need to learn from, particularly when playing on court one. Hopefully, we can adapt better in the next match.”
A similar sentiment was shared by compatriots Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi, who also booked their place in the quarter-finals.
The pair defeated Thailand’s Kittinupong Kedren-Dechapol Puavaranukroh 21-16, 21-16. Ironically, the match was also played on court one.
“I think the wind was the key factor for both pairs. The advantage went to whoever managed to control the shuttle better. Everyone knows how tricky the conditions and shuttle can be.
“We had to adjust our strategy constantly, whether we were leading or trailing in the match,” said Yew Sin.
In addition to dealing with the tricky drift on court, the 2021 World Championships bronze medallists must now devise a solid strategy to overcome India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty today.
The Indian pair have won all four of their encounters since 2023.
Their most recent clash came at the Malaysian Open in January, which also happened to be in the quarter-finals.
“We’ve been trying out new things because we’re getting older,” said Yew Sin.
“We’ve experimented with different strategies for quite some time, although they haven’t been very successful.
“Recently, we added a few new elements and the results seem to be better compared to previous tournaments,” he added.
RESULTS
Malaysians only
Second round
Men’s singles: Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha) bt Leong Jun Hao 23-21, 21-7.
Men’s doubles: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik bt Christo Popov-Toma Junior Popov (Fra) 21-17, 21-18; Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi bt Kittinupong Kedren-Dechapol Puavaranukroh (Tha) 21-16, 21-16. Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun bt Nur Azriyn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong 17-21, 21-17, 21-19.
Women’s doubles: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah bt Rui Hirokami-Sayaka Hobara (Jpn) 21-17, 21-13; Go Pei Kee-Teoh Mei Xing bt Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi (Jpn) 26-24, 7-21, 21-18.
Mixed doubles: Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei bt Gao Jiaxuan-Wu Mengying (Chn) 22-20, 21-17; Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping (Chn) bt Wong Tien Chi-Lim Chiew Sien 21-11, 14-26, 21-9.
First round
Men’s doubles: Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun bt Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi 21-17, 21-19; Nur Azriyn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong bt Lee Fan-jen-Lee Fangchih (Tpe) 21-16, 18-21, 21-14; Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi bt Ren Xiangyu-Sun Wenjun (Chn) 21-17, 21-14.
Women’s doubles: Go Pei Kee-Teoh Mei Xing bt Paulina Hankiewicz-Kornelia Marczak (Pol) 21-5, 21-6; Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah bt Carmen Ting-Ong Xin Yee 21-8, 21-12.
