PETALING JAYA: Professional shuttlers Hoo Pang Ron-Lai Pei Jing will be out to avoid becoming the next victims of German giantkillers Marvin Seidel-Nguyen Thuc Phuong at the French Open.
Pang Ron-Pei Jing kept the Malaysian flag flying high after defeating Taiwan’s Liu Kuang-heng-Hsu Yin-hui 21-13, 13-21, 21-17 in the second round on Thursday (Oct 22) at the Arena Grand Paris.
It was their second win against the Taiwanese pair after winning against them at the China Masters last month.
But it was Seidel-Thuc Phuong who stole the limelight when they sent second seeds and one of the title favourites Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin of China packing with a thrilling 21-17, 14-21, 22-20 win in another second round match.
A day earlier, the German pair had stunned Malaysia’s Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie 17-21, 21-15, 22-20 in the opening round.
Pei Jing said they would be ready for the challenge in quarters on Friday (Oct 23).
"The Germans have made it to the quarter-finals and we know it will not be easy," said Pei Jing in an interview with Badminton World Federation (BWF).
"Pang Ron and I have not played against them before, but I faced them when I was playing with Jimmy (Wong). We lost then, but now we have a chance to get our revenge."
Pang Ron is also thrilled to have reached the quarter-finals but is not resting on his laurels.
"We did quite well but there is still a lot of room for improvement. There’s another match coming up and we don’t want to get too carried away. We need to stay focused," said Pang Ron.
Pang Ron-Pei Jing will be looking to keep their momentum going after reaching the semi-finals of the Denmark Open last week.
