KUALA LUMPUR − Rising men’s singles shuttler Ng Tze Yong caused a huge upset when he stunned seventh seed Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia 21-16, 14-21, 21-5 in the first round of the India Open yesterday.
The 21-year-old Johor shuttler had to slog for an hour to dispose of the world number 28 Indonesian at the K.D Jadhav Indoor Hall in New Delhi.
Tze Yong, ranked 60 in the world, will face Frenchman Lucas Claerbout in the second round today.
Meanwhile, 2016 Rio Olympics mixed doubles silver medallist Chan Peng Soon and his new partner Valeree Siow got off to a winning start when the fifth seeds thrashed India’s Raju Mohamed Rehan-Anees Kowsar Jamaludeen 21-4, 21-9 in just 20 minutes.
“This is our first match (together), so far, our combination is good... We hope we can continue (to keep) the rhythm (so as) to be able to challenge more powerful opponents,” Peng Soon said in a video clip shared by the Badminton Association of Malaysia.
They will be up against another Indian pair, Kashish Sharma-Saruni Sharma as they seek to qualify for the quarterfinals today.
The most-anticipated showdown for Malaysian fans will be the one today between national professional shuttler Soong Joo Ven and newly crowned world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore.
Joo Ven easily eliminated India’s Chirag Sen 21-8, 21-7 in the opening round on Tuesday while Kean Yew cleared the first round by disposing of Canada’s Xiaodong Sheng 16-21, 21-4, 21-13. – Bernama, January 13, 2022
