Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia’s World No. 26 men’s pair – Man Wei Chong/Tee Kai Wun are one match away from winning their first Super 500 championship at the 2023 Malaysia Masters after defeating the World No. 9 Indonesian pair of Leo Rolly Carnando/Daniel Marthin in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Highlights of Man Wei Chong/Tee Kai Wun vs. Leo Rolly Carnando/Daniel Marthin in the 2023 Malaysia Masters semi-finals:
(video: Astro Arena)
Playing at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian duo faced a tough challenge in the opening set, as they fell behind by seven points early on. However, they managed to hold off the eighth-seeded Indonesian pair and won the set 21-17.
In the second set, Man/Tee fought back from a 1-4 deficit and eventually took the lead at 11-10 before the interval. The match remained intense after the break, but the Malaysian pair continued to push forward to ultimately won the set 22-20, and the home crowd was delighted by the result.
Man/Tee will face World No. 16 Kang Min Hyuk/Seo Seung Jae of Korea in the final. Kang/Seo defeated World No. 7 Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi of Japan 21-18, 12-21, 21-16 in another semi-final. If Man/Tee could emerge champions on Sunday, they would be the second Malaysian pair to win the tournament since Goh V Shem/Lim Khim Wah won it in 2013.
“We are thrilled to have made it to the final and are grateful for the support of our fans. We will give our best in the final and hope to come out on top,” said Man Wei Chong after the match.
In men’s singles, Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei who needed two hours to overcome Kodai Naraoka of Japan in the quarter-finals, was clearly exhausted when playing in the semi-final against Weng Hong Yang of China. Weng ultimately walked away with a 21-13, 21-19 victory and will play HS Prannoy of India in the final.
