PETALING JAYA: Independent men’s singles shuttler Cheam June Wei has a strong chance of reaching the semi-finals of the Korean Masters, but he will need to be wary of Taiwan’s world No. 42 Su Li-yang.
The two will face off in today’s quarter-finals after June Wei continued his impressive run by defeating China’s world No. 49 Dong Tianyao 21-10, 21-13 in just 32 minutes in the second round on Thursday.
A day earlier, June Wei had pulled off an upset by eliminating second seed Jason Teh of Singapore in the opening round.
The Kuala Lumpur-born player appears to have rediscovered his form after enduring a disappointing Taiwan Open campaign last week, where he suffered a shock defeat in the qualifying rounds.
“I just try to be more consistent and more aggressive on my match today to make him feel more pressure.
“And I’m happy that this strategy is working.
“I’ll take some rest today and focus again for tomorrow’s match. Just go step by step,” said June Wei after beating Tianyao.
Based on their previous meetings, June Wei holds a 2-0 head-to-head advantage over Li-yang, with their most recent encounter coming at last year’s German Open.
However, Li-yang will pose a stern test after beating another Malaysian, Eogene Ewe, 21-23, 21-19, 21-13 yesterday.
Malaysia will also have three representatives in the mixed doubles quarter-finals today.
However, they all face tough assignments. Jimmy Wong-Cheng Su Yin will take on second seeds Kim Jae-hyeon-Jang Ha-jeong of South Korea after battling past Kim Joon-young-Lee Yu-lim 13-21, 21-15, 25-23 in the second round.
Chen Tang Jie-Clarissa San also needed three games to upset fourth seeds Wu Hsuan-yi-Yang Chu-yun 21-12, 13-21, 21-11 and will next face Japan’s Haruki Kawabe-Kokona Ishikawa.
Loo Bing Kun-Noraqilah Maisarah also advanced after defeating Australia’s Andika Ramadiansyah-Nozomi Shimizu 21-15, 22-20, but now face third seeds Gao Jiaxuan-Wu Mengying of China for a place in the semi-finals.
