Top seed Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik powered their way into the quarterfinals as they led three other Malaysian men’s doubles pairs into tomorrow’s encounters of the PERODUA Malaysia Masters 2024 at Axiata Arena.
Apart from Chia/Soh, Malaysia’s No.2 pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin and 2023 finalists Man Wei Chong/Tee Kai Wun lived up to expectations and remained in contention after today’s second-round win.
Goh/Nur Izzudin stormed into the last eight when they eased past Thailand’s Peeratchai Sukphun/Pakkaphon Teeraratsakul in 30 minutes, to set up a clash against second seed and European champions Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen.
However, it was rising young pair Arif Junaidi/Yap Roy King who took the limelight following an upset 13-21, 21-15, 21-18 win over Chinese Taipei’s fourth seed Lee Jhe-Huei/Yang Po-Hsuan. It was another major feat by the world No.47 pair, who had in March, emerged as runners-up in the Spain Masters.
“We’re a bit shocked but very excited with today’s outcome.. and most importantly, managed to keep ourselves free from any injuries…we’re thankful to the fans and spectators at Axiata for their continuous support,” said Arif. The pair will take on Denmark’s sixth seed pair, their first meeting against the experienced Rasmus Kjaer/Frederick Sogaard in tomorrow’s quarterfinals.
Chia/Soh were dragged into a three-game duel before sealing a 21-13, 13-21, 21-10 win over China’s Chen Bo Yang/Liu Yi to set up a quarterfinal clash against Korean unseeded pair Jin Yong/Na Sung Seung.
“They’re good in their attacks…we lost focus in the second game but managed to keep things in order in the rubber,” said Chia, expressing delight over the performance of their doubles teammates.
Lee Zii Jia became Malaysia’s sole representative in the men’s singles after storming easily into the quarter-finals after defeating India’s Kiran George with a straight-game 21-13, 21-18.
The recent Thailand Open winner faces in-form Anders Antonsen, winner of this year’s Super 1000 Malaysia Open in what is expected to be a close encounter tomorrow.
“Against Antonsen, I need to have patience…he’s a top-notch player and it’s going to be a tough game tomorrow,” said Zii Jia.
In the other men’s singles tie, Leong Jun Hao’s campaign in the tournament fizzled out following his second-round defeat at the hands of China’s third seed Li Shi Feng, who proved too superior with his attacking play, finishing off the Malaysian 21-15, 21-16 in 58 minutes.
“It’s tough as Li was attacking aggressively from the start…I tried to slow him down and managed to briefly close the gap, but he was in totally top form and simply hard to beat,” said Jun Hao.
Meanwhile, Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan were back in action today, starting their campaign with an easy 21-17, 21-11 win over India’s young pair Simran Singhi/Ritika Thaker. The Malaysian top women’s pair, back on courts after a six-week break from competitive tournaments, face Australian pair Setyana Mapasa/Angela Lu who had beaten Malaysian pair Go Pei Kee/Low Yeen Yuan 21-8, 21-11
“We’re a bit slow in the first game with some unforced errors…we hope to improve tomorrow, remain focussed and most importantly, avoid injuries,” said Thinaah.
Earlier in the day, top mixed pair Chen Tang Jie/Toh Ee Wei had no trouble checking into the quarterfinals, needing 35 minutes to send India’s Sumeeth Reddy/Sikki Reddy packing with a 21-9, 21-15 win.
The top seeds are up against countrymates Tan Kian Meng/Lai Pei Jing in tomorrow’s quarterfinals.
In the other ties, top seed Viktor Axelsen has a chance to redeem his recent loss to Chou Tien Chen when he takes on the seventh-seed Chinese Taipei shuttler in tomorrow’s quarterfinals.
Exciting action awaits as top seed Han Yue of China clashes against India’s Pusarla V. Sindhu in the top half of the women’s singles while Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani, who shocked former champions Ratchanok Intanon, faces Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan, who had beaten Malaysia’s Goh Jin Wei earlier in the second round.
QUARTERFINALS MATCH-UPS:
Men’s Singles:
[1] Viktor Axelsen (DEN) vs [7] Chou Tien Chen (TPE)
Lu Guang Zu (CHN) vs Jason Gunawan (Hong Kong China)
Angus Ng Kar Long (TPE) vs [3] Li Shi Feng (CHN)
[5] Lee Zii Jia (MAS) vs [2] Anders Antonsen (DEN)
Women’s Singles:
[1] Han Yue (CHN) vs [5] Pusarla V Sindhu (IND)
Putri Kusuma Wardani (INA) vs Busanan Ongbamrungphan (THA)
[6] Zhang Yi Man (CHN) vs Ashmita Chaliha (IND)
Gao Fang Jie (CHN) vs [2] Wang Zhi Yi (CHN)
Men’s Doubles:
[1] Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik (MAS) vs Jin Yong/Na Sung Seung (KOR)
[3] He Ji Ting/Ren Xiang Yu (CHN) vs [7] Man Wei Chong/Kai Wun Tee (MAS)
[6] Rasmus Kjaer/Frederik Sogaard (DEN) vs Arif Junaidi/Yap Roy King (MAS)
[5] Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzuddin (MAS) vs [2] Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (DEN)
Women’s Doubles:
[1] Rin Iwanaga/Kie Nakanishi (JPN) vs Sung Shuo Yun/Yu Chien Hui (TPE)
[4] Gabriela Stoeva/Stefani Stoeva (BUL) vs [5] Li Yi Jing/Luo Xu Min (CHN)
[6] Lee Yu Lim/Shin Seung Chan (KOR) vs Keng Shu Liang/Zhang Chi (CHN)
[8] Setyana Mapasa/Angle Yu (AUS) vs [2] Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan (MAS)
Mixed Doubles:
[1] Chen Tang Jie/Toh Ee Wei (MAS) vs [8] Tan Kian Meng/Lai Pei Jing (MAS)
[4] Goh Soon Huat/Shevon Lai (MAS) v [7] Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto/Lisa Ayu Kusumawati
[6] Dejan Ferdinansyah/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja (INA) vs [3] Rinov Rivaldy/Pitha Haningtyas Mentari (INA)
[5] Guo Xin Wa/Chen Fang Hui (CHN) vs [2] Mathias Christiansen/Alexandrea Boje (DEN)
