Sydney: Former world No. 1 men’s pair Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Heong of Malaysia got their comeback campaign at the Australian Open in Sydney off to a flyer. The Malaysian duo produced straight sets 21-12, 21-19 victory over Hong Kong’s Alan Chan Yun Lung/Reginald Lee Chun Hei in their first qualifier. Koo/Tan then returned to the court at around 4.30pm Sydney time to demolish their compatriots Jagdish Singh/Roni Tan Wee Long 21-17, 21-13 in just 31 minutes to make it to the main draw that starts on Wednesday.
Another Malaysian men’s pair Mak Hee Chun/Teo Kok Siang also booked themselves a spot in the main draw after they won their two qualifying matches on Tuesday.
Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying were given a huge scare by Japanese mixed doubles pair Kenta Kazuno/Ayane Kurihara in their first qualifying match before fighting back to overcome the stubborn Japanese 21-18, 16-21, 21-18 in 65 minutes. The drama did not end there though, as Chan/Goh was taken to three sets before finally seeing off Robin Middleton/Leanne Choo of Australia 21-10, 17-21, 21-10 in 50 minutes to win their second mixed doubles qualifying match of the day.
Malaysia’s top ranked men’s singles player Chong Wei Feng who was left disconsolate after Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) decided to exclude him from this year’s World Championships, got two confidence-boosting victories on Tuesday as he trounced Riichi Takeshita of Japan 21-19, 21-7 and Michael Fariman 21-9, 21-11 to reach the main draw.
Tee Jing Yi, and Lyddia Cheah both edged past their opponents to advance to the women’s singles main draw on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, last years men’s singles runner up Simon Santoso’s 2015 Australian Open campaign has ended in just the first qualifying match, losing to Lee Dong Keun of Korea 21-15, 19-21, 13-21.
