Hong Kong: It was a stellar day for Malaysian badminton as both Ng Tze Yong and Goh Jin Wei, representing the men’s and women’s singles categories respectively, made it to the semi-finals of the Hong Kong Open Super 500 on Friday.
Highlights of Ng Tze Yong vs. Magnus Johannesen in the 2023 Hong Kong Open quarter-finals:
Ng, after six attempts this year, has finally moved past the quarter-finals, marking a significant achievement for him at the BWF World Tour tournaments. In the quarter-finals, he overcame Denmark’s Magnus Johannesen with scores of 21-18, and 21-12. This triumphant advance marks his second men’s singles semi-final appearance since winning the Bahrain International Challenge last December. Post-match, Ng said: “This victory, breaking past the quarters, boosts my confidence immensely.”
Ng’s next challenge in the semifinals will be against Indonesia’s fifth-seeded Jonatan Christie, whom Ng defeated in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open on August 3, 2023. Jonatan proved his mettle by ousting Lee Chia Hao from Chinese Taipei, 21-19, 21-18. The World No. 37 Lee Chia Hao created two huge upsets in the first two rounds of Hong Kong by beating World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen in the first round and then World No. 16 Lee Zii Jia in the second round.
Switching focus to the women’s singles, the world No. 34, Goh Jin Wei, showcased resilience by overcoming China’s sixth seed, Han Yue, in a thrilling match that ended 12-21, 21-17, 21-18. This victory was a much-needed reprieve for Goh, having faced consecutive first-round exits in 12 of her 16 previous tournaments this year. Reflecting on a close game where she was caught up from an 18-12 lead in the decider to tie at 18-18, Goh said: “I kept telling myself, one point at a time, striving for the win.” This hard-fought match reiterated her mantra: “Never give up.”
Highlights of Goh Jin Wei vs. Han Yue in the 2023 Hong Kong Open quarter-finals:
Goh is set to battle against the World No. 17 player from China, Zhang Yiman, in the upcoming women’s semi-finals. Zhang secured her spot after besting compatriot World No. 11 Wang Zhiyi in straight games of 21-17, 21-17.
The women’s singles also witnessed Japan’s top seed, Akane Yamaguchi, and Indonesia’s former junior world champion, Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, vying for a final spot. While Yamaguchi effortlessly won against the USA’s Zhang Beiwen 21-13, 21-15, Tunjung managed to beat the 2016 Olympic champion, Carolina Marin 21-9, 21-18.
Malaysia’s Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan and Goh Soon Huat/Shevon Jemie Lai also cruised into the women’s doubles and mixed doubles semi-finals respectively. Tan/Muralitharan will play Benyapa Aimsaard/Nuntakarn Aimsaard of Thailand while Goh/Lai will take on Tang Chun Man/Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong on Saturday.
