# Only Kian Meng-Pei Jing survive in mixed doubles
Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong scrapped through to the second round with a hard-fought 21-19, 22-20 win over India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty in a first-round match in the USD1million Victor China Open in Olympic Sports Center Xincheng Gymnasium in Changzhou, Jiangsu on Wednesday.
It was certainly a change for the former world number one and Rio Olympics silver medallists after losing in the first round in last week’s Daihatsu-Yonex Japan Open in Tokyo at the hands of India’s Manu Attri-B. Sumeeth Reddy.
V Shem-Wee Kiong will face Indonesia’s Ricky Karandasuwardi-Angga Pratama for a place in the quarter-finals. Malaysia has another pair in the men’s doubles second round – Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi who won their first-round match against England’s Marcus Ellis-Chris Langridge on Tuesday.
Malaysia suffered mixed fortunes in the mixed doubles with only Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing clearing the first round with a 22-20, 21-18 win over Denmark’s Niclas Nohr-Sara Thygesen in a 40-minute match.
Two other pairs – Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying and Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie fell at the first hurdle.
Peng Soon-Liu Ying, who reached the Japan Open semi-finals last week before losing to top seeds Zheng Siwei-Huang Yaqiong 21-16, 17-21, 21-19 fell to back-to-back defeats to the Chinese.
This time the Chinese, who won the Japan Open, finished off the Malaysians in straight games with a 21-18, 21-17 win in 31 minutes.
Seventh seeds Soon Huat-Shevon Lai went out with a 15-21, 21-19, 16-21 defeat to Indonesians Ricky Karandasuwardi in 54 minutes.
Malaysia’s challenge in the women’s singles also came to an abrupt end with Soniia Cheah going out 15-21, 12-21 to Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong in the first round. Goh Jin Wei lost her first round match on Tuesday to Japan’s second seed Akane Yamaguchi. RIZAL ABDULLAH
