PETALING JAYA: Veteran men’s doubles pair Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Azriyn Ayub caused an upset in the Malaysian Masters after knocking out fourth seeds Lee Jhe-huei-Yang Po-hsuan in the first round on Tuesday (May 19).
Wee Kiong-Azriyn had never beaten the world No. 15 pair since first meeting them at the Korean Open in 2023.
But with strong support from the home crowd at the Unifi Arena in Bukit Jalil, the Malaysians produced an impressive performance to beat Jhe-huei-Po-hsuan 21-14, 21-14 in just 26 minutes.
“The crowd support was definitely one of the key factors in our win today. Everyone really got behind us. Most importantly, our game worked well today. We did not rush and when we were chasing points, we stayed composed. I hope we can carry this momentum into the next match,” said Wee Kiong.
The win sent them into the second round, where they will face America’s Chen Zhi Yi-Presley Smith.
Also through to the second round were top seeds Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, who were pushed hard before beating Singapore’s Wesley Koh-Junsuke Kubo 19-21, 21-10, 21-12.
Aaron-Wooi Yik will next face either France’s Julien Maio-William Villeger or Scotland’s Christopher Grimley-Matthew Grimley.
Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King also advanced after overcoming He Zhi-wei-Huang Jui-hsuan 21-19, 15-21, 21-11, while Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing came from a game down to beat Taiwan’s Lai Po-yu-Tsai Fu-cheng 17-21, 21-19, 21-16.
Arif-Roy King will take on Aaron-Khai Xing for a place in the quarter-finals.
