Sydney: Singapore’s World No. 3 Loh Kean Yew overcame a scare in his Australian Open second round on Thursday, fighting back from dropping the second set and saving two match points in the decider to eventually see off China’s World No. 27 Li Shi Feng. The second seed Loh triumphed 21-10, 12-21, 23-21 over Li in 64 minutes.
Loh will play Shi Yu Qi of China in the quarter-finals.
Highlights of Loh Kean Yew vs. Li Shi Feng in the 2022 Australian Open second round:
In another men’s singles second-round match, the No. 1 seed and World No. 2 Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia put on a resilient display but has to succumb to World No. 19 Lu Guang Zu of China, 22-20, 15-21, 16-21.
The loss also means that Lee would not be able to qualify for the BWF World Tour Finals which will be held in Bangkok, from December 7 to December 11, 2022.
Nevertheless, another Malaysian player, World No. 33 Ng Tze Yong continued his Australian Open run with a comeback victory over World No. 32, Heo Kwang Hee of Korea in the second round on Thursday, winning 21-16, 19-21, 21-5. Ng will meet Nathan Tang of Australia on Friday.
In men’s doubles, World No. 8 Ong Yew Sin/Teo Ee Yi saw off Ricky Cheng/Jack Wang of New Zealand 21-6, 21-18 to set up a quarter-final battle with World No. 22 Kang Min Hyuk/Seo Seung Jae of Korea next.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s World No. 44 Goh Jin Wei also secured a ticket to the last eight after defeating the representative of India, Anwesha Gowda 21-7, 21-13. Goh will take on World No. 9 Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand for a spot in the semi-finals.
