Hong Kong: In a thrilling match-up, Lee Zii Jia, currently 16th in the world rankings, overcame China’s Zhao Junpeng, world No. 31, with scores of 21-17, and 21-16 in the first round of the 2023 Hong Kong Open on Wednesday. This was a sweet revenge for Lee, avenging his previous loss to Zhao at last year’s Tokyo World Badminton Championships. His next challenge? Facing Chinese Taipei’s qualifier Lee Chia Hao, who created the biggest upset of the tournament by ousting Denmark’s World No. 1 and last week’s China Open champion, Viktor Axelsen, 21-16, 21-10.
Highlights of Lee Zii Jia vs. Zhao Junpeng in the 2023 Hong Kong Open first round:
Perhaps Axelsen would like to take a break after winning the China Open last Sunday and not getting fined by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) for not participating in enough tournaments, he looked to simply hitting a lot of out of bound shots and it’s no surprise that he’s making this early exit.
According to BWF’s regulation, the top fifteen singles players and top ten doubles pairs in the World Ranking will be required to play in all 4 Super 1000, all 6 Super 750, and 2 out of 9 Super 500 tournaments occurring in the full calendar year, making it a total of 12 mandatory tournaments.
Another captivating contest witnessed Ng Tze Yong, ranked 20th globally, clinch his second consecutive victory against Chinese Taipei’s World No. 12 Chou Tien Chen, with a scoreline of 21-15, 21-19. This triumph sets Ng on a collision course with Japan’s World No. 14 Kanta Tsuneyama in the round of 16, a rematch of their bout from the 2023 Australian Open, which Ng had won.
Highlights of Ng Tze Yong vs. Chou Tien Chen in the 2023 Hong Kong Open first round:
Post-match, a candid Ng admitted that his win was a much-needed confidence booster, especially after his recent loss at the China Open. He commented on his focused game strategy and expressed optimism for the upcoming rounds.
In another thrilling encounter, World No. 42 Leong Jun Hao, after two successful qualifying rounds, managed to launch a comeback from 16-20 down in the first game to overcome World No. 23 Lin Chun Yi of Chinese Taipei. Leong held a handsome 13-0 lead in the second set to eventually beat Lin 21-15. Leong’s next test will be against Indonesia’s No. 2 seed, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting.
Highlights of Leong Jun Hao vs. Lin Chun Yi in the 2023 Hong Kong Open first round:
On the women’s front, Malaysia’s World No. 34 Goh Jin Wei successfully made it to the top 16. She pulled off a spectacular reversal against Denmark’s World No. 25 Line Højmark Kjaersfeldt, 23-25, 21-13, 21-14. However, she faces a daunting challenge next, pitted against Thailand’s former world champion and current World No. 7 Ratchanok Intanon, against whom her track record reads 0 wins in 4 matchups.
In more surprises, Japan’s former women’s singles world champion, Nozomi Okuhara, was defeated by Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani, and world No. 2, Akane Yamaguchi, confidently secured her spot in the top 16. However, the day wasn’t without its share of upsets, as No. 2 seed Tai Tzu Ying conceded her game midway in the second game, giving compatriot Wen Chi Hsu a pass to the next round with a score of 10-21, 3-11.
