Bangkok: In their first Group B match at the 2022 BWF World Tour Finals, Malaysia’s World No. 8 mixed doubles pair, Tan Kian Meng/Lai Pei Jing, ended their 7-0 losing streak by beating the Tokyo Olympics gold medalists – Wang Yi Lyu/Huang Dong Ping of China 23-21, 14-21, 21-16 on Wednesday.
“We are very satisfied with our game today, our strategies went as planned and our focus in this match was also very good,” said Lai.
Highlights of Tan Kian Meng/Lai Pei Jing vs. Wang Yi Lyu/Huang Dong Ping at 2022 BWF World Tour Finals:
“This was the first time we managed to beat them, before that we lost to them seven games in a row. We hope to maintain the momentum for the next game,” added Lai.
Tan/Lai face another challenging task when they were scheduled to meet the world’s number one pair who were also the defending champions, Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Sapsiree Taerattanachai from Thailand for the second action of the group stage on Thursday.
Meanwhile, fate was not on the side to Malaysia’s 2022 French Open women’s doubles champions, Pearly Tan/Muralitharan Thinaah when they lost in the first Group B action to the Hanoi SEA Games gold medalists, Apriyani Rahayu/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti from Indonesia 21-23, 19-21.
Highlights of Pearly Tan/Muralitharan Thinaah vs. Apriyani Rahayu/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti at 2022 BWF World Tour Finals:
However, the world number nine pair from Malaysia were determined to bounce back when they meet the world champions from China, Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan in the second Group B match.
“I think today’s game did not go planned. I lacked the confidence to make some shots thus affecting our pace of play,” said Muralitharan.
“Hopefully we can be more focused and able to show better results in the next match,” added Muralitharan.
Another Malaysian women’s pair, Vivian Hoo/Lim Chiew Sin, also lost their first match to the South Korean pair, Jeong Na Eun/Kim Hye Jeong 18-21-13-21 in the opening match of Group A.
Hoo/Lim are scheduled to meet the Thai pair, Benyapa Aimsaard/Nuntakarn Aimsaard in their second Group A match.
