KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian mixed-doubles pair Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing have advanced to the semi-finals of the BWF World Tour Finals after the world number eight pair beat Thailand’s Supak Jomkoh-Supissara Paewsampran 21-17, 22-20 today.
Defeating their opponents on home ground in Bangkok, Thailand, the Malaysian independent shuttlers won the match in 41 minutes and secured their spot in the semi-finals after finishing second in the mixed-doubles Group B behind top-ranked Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai.
After the win, the pair dedicated their performance to coach and former Malaysian shuttler Chin Eei Hui, who will be leaving the professional camp after the tournament.
“This win is special for us because it is the last tournament that coach Eei Hui will be with us.
“So, we want to give her a good result and give her a good memory here in Thailand with a good result in the tournament,” they said.
Tan-Lai were the only Malaysian pair to win on the first day of the BWF World Tour Final after defeating China’s Wang Yi Lyu-Huang Dong Ping.
Joining them in the semi-finals is men’s doubles pair Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi, who took down world number three Indonesian pair Fajar Alfian-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo 21-10, 17-21, 19-21.
In a match that went on for 53 minutes, the Malaysian duo came from behind to secure their spot in the semi-finals as they finished top of the Group A ahead of Alfian-Sukamuljo.
“We had nothing to lose going into this match, we definitely have more respect for our opponents,” they said.
This is only the second time the Malaysian duo defeated the Indonesians, as they lost six of the previous eight meeting between the pairs.
“We did not think too much about the past results and just focused on the match today. It may not have been our best performance, but we really enjoyed the game,” they added.
The other Malaysian pairs in the tournament however will not be advancing to the semi-finals.
French open champions Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah lost their third match today against China’s Zhang Shu Xian-Zheng Yu 21-19, 20-22, 21-9.
Even if they won, it would not have been enough to see the women’s doubles pair through to the next round as they had already crashed out yesterday after losing to Chen Qing Chen-Jia Yi Fan of China.
Men’s doubles world champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik were also eliminated from the tournament yesterday after they failed to win against China’s Liu Yu Chen-Ou Xuan Yi 23-21, 22-24, 21-16.
Mixed-doubles pair Goh Soon Huat-Lai Shevon Jemie had given a walkover to China’s Zheng Si Wei-Huang Ya Qiong today, as they had already failed to advance to the next round of the tournament.
Women’s doubles duo Vivian Hoo-Lim Chiew Sien also lost today against Thai team Jongkolphan Kititharakul-Rawinda Prajongjai 21-10, 21-17. – The Vibes, December 9, 2022
