Hong Kong: Malaysia’s World No. 20 men’s singles player Ng Tze Yong was defeated by Indonesia’s World No. 6 in three games in the semi-finals of the Hong Kong Open on Saturday, couldn’t make the final for the first time this year.
In the first game, Ng fell far behind several times at 5-11 and 12-18 but caught up to 19-19, but in the end, he still fell short and lost 2 points in a row with 19-21.
Highlights of Ng Tze Yong vs. Jonatan Christie in the 2023 Hong Kong Open semi-finals:
The second game was even more intense. Huang led slightly in the first half of the second game and entered a technical timeout at 11-9. After the game continued, Jonatan took the lead 16-12. Ng scored 5 points in a row and regained the lead. The two sides then fought all the way to a tie at 19. Jonathan got the match point twice, 20-19 and 21-20. They were all rescued by Ng. In the end, Ng won the extra-point match 23-21, forcing the game into the third game.
After two games, the match had already lasted 61 minutes. As soon as the third set started, Ng was obviously exhausted. After an 8-0 run, Jonathan was far ahead with 12-1 and 17-6. Although Ng chased 6 points in a row to 12-17, it was too late to lose 13-21.
“I’m quite satisfied with my overall performance,” Ng said after the match. “Of course, there are other aspects that can be improved.”
Ng also said that he found the venue to be slippery, which made him worried about slipping and injuring himself.
“I feel that the venue is slippery and I worry about slipping and injuring my waist. From last week (China Open) to this week, the venue is very slippery,” added Ng.
The next step for Ng will be the Hangzhou Asian Games. Will Huang have greater performance? He replied: “Every game is different, I am just going to focus on one match at a time.”
In another men’s singles semi-finals, Japanese World No. 15 men’s singles player Kenta Nishimoto created an upset on Saturday night, defeating second seed and World No. 2 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia in straight games to reach the final.
Highlights of Kenta Nishimoto vs. Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in the 2023 Hong Kong Open semi-finals:
Nishimoto, who had only beaten Anthony twice before in six attempts, was in superb form throughout the match, winning 21-13, 21-15 in 46 minutes. This was his third win over Anthony in his career.
Nishimoto’s victory is a major boost for Japanese badminton, which has been struggling in recent years. He is the first Japanese men’s singles player to reach the final of a BWF World Tour Super 500 tournament in over two years.
Denmark’s World No. 9 Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen will take on Indonesia’s World No. 11 Leo Rolly Carnando/Daniel Marthin in the men’s doubles final.
