KUALA LUMPUR – National badminton player Ng Tze Yong made it into the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in Sydney today after he defeated local shuttler Nathan Tang 21-9, 21-7 in 29 minutes.
The win today at the Sydney Olympic Park sets up 33rd-ranked Tze Yong to face China’s Lu Guang Zu in the semi-finals tomorrow.
Guang Zu, who is ranked 19th, took down world number two Lee Zii Jia yesterday in the second round of the tournament, winning the match 20-22, 21-15, 21-16, denying Zii Jia his ticket to the BWF World Tour Finals in Bangkok, Thailand from December 7 to 11.
In today’s quarterfinals, Guang Zu won 21-12, 21-9 against Indonesia’s Ikhsan Leonardo Imanuel Rumbay to set up his meeting with Tze Yong in the semi-finals tomorrow.
Meanwhile, it will also be a Malaysia-China meeting in the men’s doubles semi-finals as Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi take on He Ji Ting-Zhou Hao Dong.
The eighth-ranked national pair faced South Korea’s Kang Min Hyuk-Seo Seung Jae yesterday, with the duo winning the match 21-10, 21-10.
In the women’s singles category, it was the end of the road for Goh Jin Wei, as she exited the Super 300 event after losing to Pornpawee Chochuwong from Thailand 21-11, 21-15.
After Zii Jia’s disappointing performance, badminton legend Datuk James Selvaraj said he felt the Kedah-born shuttler should reach either the semi-finals or finals of any tournaments, as early exits are simply unacceptable. – The Vibes, November 18, 2022.
