Jakarta: As the upsets kept coming at Indonesia Open on Wednesday, last week’s Malaysia Open champion Lee Chong Wei survived a gritty Angus Ng Ka Long fightback to beat the Hong Kong player 21-15, 18-21, 21-10 and advanced to the second round of the BWF World Tour Super 1000.
Lee will face Anders Antonsen of Denmark in the second round. If the seeds hold, Lee could Japanese Kento Momota again in the semi-final. Lee clinched his 12th Malaysia Open title last week by defeating Momota in the final.
The former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth of India suffered his second consecutive loss to Kento Momota in two weeks on Wednesday, when the Indian player lost to Kento Momota 21-12, 14-21, 15-21 in the opener that lasted 60 minutes at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno.
Meanwhile, last week’s Malaysia Open men’s doubles champions and No. 6 seeds Takeshi Kamura/Keigo Sonoda were eliminated from the tournament after losing to local pair Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto 18-21, 21-14, 18-21 in a one-hour battle. The Indonesian pair will meet Jelle Maas/Robin Tabeling of Netherlands on Thursday.
Playing in front of home crowd, World No. 1 men’s pair Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo of Indonesia didn’t disappoint and fight hard to edge out a 21-16, 18-21, 21-10 victory against teammates Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan. The No. 1 seeds are set to take on Ong Yew Sin/Teo Ee Yi of Malaysia next.
Ong/Teo levelled their career meeting records against Indonesian pair Wahyu Nayaka Arya Pangkaryanira/Ade Yusuf Santoso to 2-2 after beating Pangkaryanira/Santoso 21-18, 21-11 on Wednesday.
In an all Malaysian mixed doubles opening match, Rio Olympic champion Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying overcame a 6-15 deficit in the first set to rally past compatriots and No. 7 seeds Goh Soon Huat/Shevon Jemie Lai 21-19, 21-19. Chan/Goh are set to meet Niclas Nohr/Sara Thygesen of Denmark in the second round.
