KUALA LUMPUR: National men’s doubles pair, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik pulled off a major upset by knocking out world number five, Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto of Indonesia en route to book their place in the quarter-finals of China Open Badminton Tournament in Fuzhou, China, Thursday.
The unseeded pair, however, had to dig deep into their reserves before scoring a 13-21, 21-18 and 21-16 win in the second round which lasted about 49 minutes at Haixia Sports Olympic Center, according to the Badminton World Federation (BWF) website, www.bwfbadminton.com.
National mixed doubles pair, Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Jemie Lai also cruised to the last eight after edging another Indonesian pair, Rinov Rivaldy-Pitha Haningtyas Mentari, 23-21 and 21-13 in another second round match.
National women’s doubles pair, Chow Mei Kuan-Lee Meng Yean also advanced to the next round after scoring a 21-17 and 21-12 victory against unheralded Russian pair, Ekaterina Bolotova-Alina Davletova.
Meanwhile, national top-ranked player, Lee Zii Jia decided to withdraw while trailing 3-11 in the second game against world number one, Kento Momota of Japan after picking up an injury. Momota won the opening set 21-9.
SECOND ROUND RESULTS:
(Notes:All Malaysian unless stated and [ ] denotes seeding)
Men’s Singles:
[1] Kento Momota (JPN) bt Lee Zii Jia (Momota won the match after Zii Jia decided to pull out in the second set)
Men’s Doubles:
[4] Takeshi Kamura-Keigo Sonoda (JPN) bt Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Mohd Rumsani 22-20, 21-18
Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik bt [5] Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto (INA) 13-21, 21-18, 21-16
Women’s Singles:
Michelle Lee (CAN) bt Soniia Cheah 21-14, 21-10
Women’s Doubles:
Chow Mei Kuan-Lee Meng Yean bt Ekaterina Bolotova-Alina Davletova (RUS) 21-17, 21-12
Mixed Doubles:
[6] Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying bt Robin Tabeling-Selena Piek (NED) 21-18, 21-13 Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Jemie Lai bt Rinov Rivaldy-Pitha Haningtyas Mentari (INA) 23-21, 21-13[3] Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai (THA) bt Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing 21-12, 21-17. – Bernama
