PETALING JAYA: Cheng Su Yin had never beaten China’s world No. 1 pair Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping in four previous meetings with former partner Hoo Pang Ron.
But the 22-year-old Su Yin finally turned the tables with new partner Jimmy Wong, as the pair delivered a composed yet aggressive performance to claim a 23-21, 21-16 victory against the top seeds in the opening round of the Singapore Open at the Singapore Indoor Stadium yesterday.
The win also made Jimmy-Su Yin only the second Malaysian pair to defeat Yanzhe-Dongping after Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei, who have secured three victories in 10 meetings against the Chinese duo.
Jimmy-Su Yin will next face Taiwan’s Yang Po-hsuan-Hu Ling-fang tomorrow for a place in the quarter-finals.
The 23-year-old Jimmy said they managed to strike the right balance between aggression and patience, staying calm in long rallies while still taking their chances at the net and in attack when opportunities arose. “Today (yesterday), we were quite aggressive, but I think the key to our victory was patience.
“They are a strong pair and the top seeds, so we had to stay patient while also being ready to attack at the right moments.”
The victory came as a timely response after Jimmy-Su Yin crashed out in the first round of the Malaysian Masters last week.
“We are really happy with the win because we did not perform at our best in our first tournament, so we worked hard to bounce back in this one and it is great that we managed to do that,” Jimmy said.
“After last week’s defeat, we just tried to reset. It was our first tournament together, so we went back to training, focused on improving and regaining our rhythm.”
Su Yin opted not to draw on past experiences so as not to burden Jimmy with added pressure.
“I did not bring up my previous experience against them because I did not want to add pressure on Jimmy,” she said.
“They are the world No. 1 pair, so every rally is very hard to finish.
“So I just told him we needed to stay calm and patient throughout, whether at the back or the front — focus on our own game and play our best.”
Pang Ron will get to strut his stuff with his new partner Lai Pei Jing but they have been drawn against reigning world champions Tang Jie-Ee Wei in the opener.
Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien will play India’s Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto while Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie take on South Korea’s Kim Jae-hyeon-Jang Ha-jeong in the first round.
In the men’s singles, Justin Hoh will be the lone flag bearer after the exit of Leong Jun Hao and will take on Christo Popov of France in the second half of the first round matches.
In the women’s singles, the hope is on K. Letshanaa to keep the flag flying after the defeat of Wong Ling Ching yesterday but it will not be easy for the former as she will face China’s Chen Yufei.
