PETALING JAYA: It is up to national men’s doubles pair Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun to shatter Ben Lane-Sean Vendy of England’s stranglehold over Malaysian pairs at the French Open.
The seventh seeds Wei Chong-Kai Wun have set up a meeting against the hot form Lane-Vendy after defeating South Korea’s Kang Min-hyuk-Ki Dong-ju 21-14, 21-13 at the Glaz Arena in Cesson-Sevigne in the first round yesterday.
The English pair had made Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Azriyn Ayub their latest victims after scoring a superb 21-14, 21-13 in another opening round match.
It’s the third consecutive Malaysian pair to fall to Lane-Vendy after earlier victories over Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in the Arctic Open final and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin in the first round of the Denmark Open last week.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun, who are bent on avenging their compatriots, have a good reason to be positive as they have beaten the English pair, interestingly, in France too, but during the second round of the World Championships in Paris in August.
Men’s singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao will need more than a miracle to clear the first round of the French Open today as he faces former world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen.
Although Jun Hao is currently ranked world No. 20, six spots higher than Axelsen, his recent form has not been as convincing as the Danish star’s.
At the Denmark Open last week, Jun Hao once again made an early exit after losing to Li Shifeng of China, while Axelsen, who had taken time recover from foot injury, regained his rhythm by reaching the semi-finals.
National singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen is aware of the tough challenge ahead and said Jun Hao cannot afford to repeat the same mistakes if he hopes to upset Axelsen.
“We are focusing on improving several aspects that we identified from our performance at the Denmark Open. Facing Viktor (Axelsen) will be a tough challenge.
“We were not really able to put pressure on Shifeng previously, which allowed him to dictate the tempo and the game. Unforced errors also ended Jun Hao’s chances,” said Jonassen.
Despite his inconsistent form this year, Jun Hao has managed to spring a few surprises by defeating several top players, including reigning Denmark Open champion Jonatan Christie, Kodai Naraoka and even Shifeng himself.
The last time Jun Hao faced Axelsen was in the quarter-finals of the Singapore Open last year, where the Olympic champion prevailed.
In the mixed doubles, professional pair Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien continued to miss out on a breakthrough after losing 21-17, 21-17 to third seeds Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran.
RESULTS
Malaysians only
First round
Men’s doubles: Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun bt Kang Min-hyuk-Ki Dong-ju (Kor) 21-9, 21-13; Ben Lane-Sean Vendy (Eng) bt Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Azriyn Ayub 21-14, 21-13.
Mixed doubles: Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran (Tha) bt Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien 21-17, 21-17.
