BANGKOK – Malaysian men’s singles shuttlers Lee Zii Jia and Liew Daren booked their place in the Thailand Open 2022 quarterfinals at the Impact Arena, here, yesterday.
World No 6 Zii Jia continued his winning streak after defeating German shuttler Kai Schaefer 21-7, 21-11 in 33 minutes.
The 24-year-old independent shuttler will take on Shesar Hiren Rhustavito of Indonesia in the quarterfinals today.
Meanwhile, men’s singles professional shuttler Daren slogged for three games to beat Japanese Koki Watanabe to earn a ticket to the final eight.
The 34-year-old fought back from a game down to beat Koki 16-21, 22-20, 21-11 in an hour and two minutes. He will take on Zhao Jun Peng of China today.
Malaysia’s top doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik also advanced into the quarterfinals after beating Taiwanese duo Lee Jhe Huei-Yang Po Hsuan.
The Tokyo Olympics bronze-medallists and sixth seeds continued their good run in the competition by upsetting the Taiwanese pair 21-18, 21-16 in 32 minutes. The duo play against Taiwanese pair Lee Yang-Wang Chi Lin today.
Another Malaysian pair, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, also stormed into the quarterfinals after beating French pair Christo Popov-Toma Junior Popov 21-16, 21-11 in 31 minutes. They will meet Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi in the next game.
Meanwhile, national women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M.Thinaah netted a slot in the final eight after securing an easy two-game victory over China’s Liu Xuan Xuan-Xia Yu Ting 21-17, 21-11 in 39 minutes.
However, it was the end of the road for Vivian Hoo- Lim Chiew Sien as the pair suffered straight game defeats to Japanese pair Yuki Fukushima-Sayaka Hirota 9-21, 8-21. Another women’s doubles pair, Anna Ching Yik Cheong-Teoh Mei Xing, crashed out in the second round yesterday after being defeated by Baek Ha-Na-Lee Yu-Lim of South Korea 21-19, 11-21, 11-21.
In mixed doubles, Goh Soon Huat-Lai Shevon Jemie checked into the quarterfinals after disposing of Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto of India 21-19, 22-20 in 38 minutes.
The Malaysian pair will take on Japanese duo Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino. – Bernama, May 20, 2022
