Ready to step up: Cheng Su Yin (left) could not hide her excitement after arriving in Paris yesterday with Hoo Pang Ron and the rest of the Malaysian team.
PETALING JAYA: From struggling in lower-tier events to making her World Championships debut, Cheng Su Yin’s rise has been nothing short of remarkable.
And the 22-year-old Su Yin could not hide her excitement after arriving in Paris yesterday with the rest of the Malaysian team.
“I feel very excited to compete in the World Championships for the first time,” said the petite Su Yin.
Su Yin will be playing with Hoo Pang Ron in the competition starting on Monday.
Two years ago, Su Yin was still transitioning from women’s doubles to mixed doubles and playing in lower tier tournaments with Loo Bing Kun.
Su Yin switched to mixed doubles after showing little progress in women’s doubles with twin sister Cheng Su Hui.
But only when she combined with Pang Ron at the end of 2023, that she really found her feet.
“I hope Pang Ron and I can bring out our best game in Paris. I don’t want to think too much about winning or losing but I just want to translate what I’ve been doing in training to the matches,” she said.
“I think there’s less pressure on us as we are not seeded, so this could benefit us.”
Initially, the pair took some time to click before gaining consistency in the second half of last year.
Most memorably, Pang Ron-Su Yin reached the final of the World Tour Super 750 China Masters last November before losing narrowly to home favourites and current world No. 1 Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping.
The duo are currently ranked No. 16 in the world but are struggling to recapture their best form this year and Su Yin thinks it could be because of overthinking during matches.
“I feel that I want to prove myself too badly and this makes it hard for me to show what I can do,” said Su Yin.
They have lost in the early round in all their tournaments this year except in the Indonesian Masters in January and Orleans Masters in March where they made it into the last eight.
“I have been trying to find a solution to my problem including having sessions with a psychologist which has helped.
“I think I need to adopt a nothing-to-lose mentality like I did when I started playing with Pang Ron.”
In the world meet, Pang Ron-Su Yin have received a bye in the first round and could meet Germany’s Malik Bourakkadi-Leona Michalski for a place in the third round.
A win could see them take on fellow Malaysians Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie in the third round.
World No. 6 Soon Huat-Shevon, who also have a first-round bye, will likely need to overcome Thailand’s Pakkapon Teera–ratsakul-Phataimas Muenwong in the second round.
