Gwangju: Malaysia’s independent men’s doubles pair – Tan Wee Kiong/Tan Kian Meng shocked the No. 3 seeds Pramudya Kusumawardana/Yeremia Erich Yoche Yaacob Rambitan in the first round of the 2022 Korea Open to cruise into the second round of the Korea Masters in Gwangju on Wednesday.
The World No. 77 Malaysian duo held off a last-minute surge from Kusumawardana/Rambitan, when the Indonesian pair came back from 17-20 to level the score 20-20 in the third set. The two Tans ultimately beat the World No. 21 Indonesians 21-11, 16-21, 22-20 in 48 minutes.
“My partnership with Wee Kiong is getting much better,” said Tan Kian Meng.
“Nevertheless, we still have a lot to improve. Winning the Korea Open last week definitely boosted my confidence. So I hope I can continue to play good matches here,” added Tan Kian Meng.
They will face Choi Solgyu/Kim Wonho of Korea for a place in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s independent mixed doubles pair, Goh Soon Huat/Shevon Jemie Lai didn’t face any trouble advancing to the second round after beating the Korean pair, Wang Chan/Jung Kyung Eun 21-12, 21-12.
Goh/Lai will face the mother-son mixed doubles pair from Israel, Misha Zilberman/Svetlana Zilberman in the second round.
Other Malaysian shuttlers however were all knocked out in the first round. Cheam June Wei lost to Jeon Hyeok Jin of Korea 11-21, 11-21; Nur Azryn Ayub/Lim Khim Wah were defeated by Na Gwang Min/Noh Jin Seong of Korea 19-21, 18-21; while Choong Hon Jian/Yap Cheng Wen were demolished by Ou Xuan Yi/Huang Ya Qiong of China 16-21, 5-21 in the mixed doubles event.
