Formidable force: India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty in action against Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King during the second-round match. — MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI/The Star
BUKIT JALIL: National men’s doubles coach Herry Iman Pierngadi was smiling from ear to ear yesterday.
His top two pairs Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun kept the flag flying high by reaching the quarter-finals after beating their respective opponents in different fashion.
Aaron-Wooi Yik, no strangers to handling pressure as Malaysia’s top men’s doubles pair, were tested to the limit by China’s Chen Xujun and Liu Yang but prevailed with a 21-14, 14-21, 21-14 win in 62 minutes.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun warmed up nicely by defeating Japan’s Hiroki Midorikawa and Kyohei Yamashita 21-19, 21-15.
The challenge will be in the last eight today but both pairs are staying positive.
Former world champions Aaron-Wooi Yik will take on either Kang Min-hyuk-Ki Dong-ju of South Korea or Sabar Karyaman-Moh Reza of Indonesia.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun will face either top seeds Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae of South Korea or Nur Azriyn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong.
Aaron said they were determined to reach the semi-finals, with their last appearance at that stage coming four years ago in the 2022 edition.
“I think we all hope to play until the final day, but sometimes expectation and reality are different.
“As players, we will do our best to fight until the end, and we hope the fans will support all Malaysian players.
Chipped in Wooi Yik: “It’s a good sign that both pairs won today, which shows we are on the same level. We hope to ride on the momentum.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun face a tough task to repeat last year’s run to the semi-finals as they could face world No. 1 pair Won-ho-Seung-jae, who have dominated the BWF World Tour last year.
Wei Chong is banking on the support from the fans to keep going.
“There are many fans here supporting us, including those who travelled from far away. It will definitely boosts our motivation, and playing in Malaysia makes us even more excited,” said Wei Chong.
Earlier, Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King fell to Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty 18-21, 11-21, while Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani were defeated by Ben Lane-Sean Vendy 13-21, 17-21.
SECOND ROUND RESULTS
(Malaysians unless stated)
Men’s singles: Jonatan Christie (Ina) bt Leong Jun Hao 21-18, 21-11; Shi Yuqi (Chn) bt Ayush Shetty (Ind) 21-18, 18-21, 21-12; Anders Antonsen (Den) bt Victor Lai (Can) 21-16, 21-15; Alex Lanier (Fra) bt Nhat Nguyen (Ire) 21-8, 21-19; Kodai Naraoka (Jpn) bt Lu Guangzu (Chn) 21-18, 16-21, 21-16; Lee Cheuk Yiu (Hkg) bt Lakshya Sen (Ind) 22-20, 21-15.
Men’s doubles: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik bt Chen Xujun-Liu Yang (Chn) 21-14, 14-21, 21-14; Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun bt Hiroki Midorikawa-Kyohei Yamashita (Jpn) 21-9, 21-15; Ben Lane-Sean Vendy (Eng) bt Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani 21-13, 21-17; Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty (Ind) bt Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi 21-18, 21-11; Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi (Jpn) bt Kakeru Kumagai-Hiroki Nishi (Jpn) 24-22, 21-10.
Women’s singles: Chen Yufei (Chn) bt Busanan Ongbamrungphan (Tha) 19-21, 21-12, 21-9; An Se-young (Kor) bt Nozomi Okuhara (Jpn) 21-17, 21-7; Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn) bt Gao Fangjie (Chn) 21-11, 4-21, 21-17; P.V. Sindhu (Ind) bt Tomoka Miyazaki (Jpn) 21-8, 21-13; Ratchanok Intanon (Tha) bt Mia Blichfeldt (Den) 21-8, 21-7; Line Kjaersfeldt (Den) w.o. Han Yue (Chn).
Women’s doubles: Febriana Kusuma-Meilysa Puspitasari (Ina) bt Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah 26-24, 21-17; Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee (Kor) bt Hu Ling-fang-Jheng Yuchieh (Kor) 21-12, 21-9; Kaho Osawa-Mai Tanabe (Jpn) bt Kim Hye-jeong-Kong Heeyong (Kor) 23-21, 17-21, 21-19; Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto (Jpn) bt Paulina Cybulska-Kornelia Marczak (Pol) 21-6, 21-14; Jeong Na-eun-Lee Yeon-woo (Kor) bt Ornnicha Jongsathapornparn-Sukitta Suwachai (Tha) 21-14, 21-13; Hsu Yinhui-Lin Jhih-yun (Tpe) w.o. Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian (Chn).
Mixed doubles: Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei bt Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin 21-13, 23-21; Presley Smith-Jennie Gai (US) bt Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie 21-9, 21-17; Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet (Hkg) bt Chen Cheng-kuan-Hsu Yin-hui (Tpe) 21-14, 21-19; Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping (Chn) bt Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi (Chn) 22-20, 21-16; Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin (Chn) bt Phuwanat Horbanluekit-Benyapa Aimsaard (Tha) 21-12, 21-12; Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran (Tha) bt Akira Koga-Natsu Saito (Jpn) 16-21, 21-8, 21-19.
