Suncheon: Two singles players and three doubles pairs from Malaysia have moved into the quarter-finals of the 2022 Korea Open.
Former world junior champion, Goh Jin Wei who is currently ranked World No. 128, outlasted World No. 187 Lee Se Yeon of Korea 21-17, 17-21, 21-12 in 57 minutes to set up a last 8 meeting with World No. 20 Kim Gaeun of Korea.
Kim on the other hand pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament on Thursday by beating Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Chen Yufei of China – 21-17, 21-19.
Malaysia’s World No. 45 Ng Tze Yong was able to withstand the powerful smashes from World No. 125 Kim DongHun Korea, coming back from 1-9 in the second set to eventually win the match 21-14, 21-19.
Another Malaysian men’s singles player – Cheam June Wei failed to advance after he was sent packing by Weng Hong Yang of China 14-21, 21-17, 17-21.
Ng Tze Yong will battle Weng Hong Yang on Friday for a spot in the semi-finals.
In men’s doubles, World No. 11 Ong Yew Sin/Teo Ee Yi exacted sweet revenge for their loss to Indonesia’s World No. 25 Leo Rolly Carnando/Daniel Marthin in the first round of the 2021 HYLO Open, coming back from 14-18 in the first game to beat the Indonesian pair in straight-set 22-20, 21-11. Ong/Teo will next face another Indonesian pair – Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto who won the Swiss Open two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, two Malaysian mixed doubles pairs – Tan Kian Meng/Lai Pei Jing and Ong Yew Sin/Goh Liu Ying have also entered the last eight.
The No. 2 seeds – Tan Kian Meng/Lai Pei Jing eliminated local pair – Na Sung Seung/Kim Min Ji, 21-11, 21-9, while Ong/Goh didn’t break a sweat on Thursday as they were given a walkover by their No. 1 seeds opponents – Seo Seungjae/Chae Yujung of South Korea.
Tan/Lai will face fifth seed Ou Xuan Yi/Huang Ya Qiong after the Chinese pair overcame a second-round hurdle against Indian duo B Sumeeth/Ashwini Ponnappa in three sets, 22-20, 18-21, 21-14, while Ong/Goh will be up against Kim WonHo/Jeong Na Eun of Korea.
Another Malaysian mixed doubles pair – the No. 3 seeds Goh Soon Huat/Shevon Jemie Lai was unfortunately lost to unseeded pair from Japan, Hiroki Midorikawa/Natsu Saito – 15-21, 21-23.
