PETALING JAYA: Professional mixed doubles pair Hoo Pang Ron-Lai Pei Jing showed steely determination to fight back from a game down to upset China’s world No. 21 duo Gao Jiaxuan-Wu Mengying to reach the second round of the French Open yesterday.
The Malaysian world No. 31 pair recovered from the opening hiccup to rally their way to a 14-21, 21-15, 21-15 victory in 46 minutes at the Arena Grand Paris.
The win continued a strong run of form for the Malaysians, who recently climbed 20 spots in the world rankings following their semi-final exit at the Denmark Open last week.
Pang Ron-Pei Jing will next face Taiwan’s Liu Kuangheng-Hsu Yin-hui in the second round.
The world No. 23 Taiwanese pair also advanced after a narrow upset, defeating Thailand’s fifth-seeded Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran 21-13, 22-24, 22-20.
Meanwhile, Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie were eliminated in the opening round following a hard-fought upset loss to Germany’s Marvin Seidel-Thuc Phuong Nguyen.
Despite entering the tournament as the world No. 9 and securing the opening game 21-17, the husband-and-wife combination were unable to close out the match.
The German underdogs rallied to take the next two games, ultimately prevailing 17-21, 21-15, 22-20.
With this victory, the world No. 27 European pair advanced to the second round, where they will face a formidable challenge against China’s second seeds, Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin.
