MALAYSIA pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin caused a stunning upset at the BANK OF NINGBO Badminton Asia Championships 2024 which got underway in Ningbo, China yesterday.
The No.19 ranked Malaysian pair were in their element as they upstaged former men’s doubles world champion and world No.2 Kang Min Hyuk/Seo Seung Jae in straight games of 44 minutes, bagging one their biggest wins.
Former men’s singles world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore, India’s Laksya Sen and Angus Ng Kar Long all suffered similar fates as the South Korean duo, succumbing to early round defeats at the hands of their rivals.
Top seed Shi Yu Qi of China got past his early hurdle after beating the world No. 13, 21-19, 21-15 in 55 minutes, to advance to the second round against Kenta Nishimoto.
The Japanese had earlier got the better of Kean Yew in an energy-sapping duel which lasted 80 minutes. Nishimoto bounced back for the first game 18-21 defeat to win 21-18, 21-17 to proceed against Shi Yu Qi.
Indonesia’s second seed Anthony Sinisuka Ginting is also through to the next round, wrapping up the encounter against India’s Kidambi Srikanth 21-14, 21-13 in just 36 minutes.
Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie, one of the tournament’s overwhelming favourites, had an easy passage, winning over qualifier Jewel Angelo Albo of Philippines to meet Hong Kong China’s Lee Cheuk Yiu.
Meanwhile, An Se Young, seeking her maiden Asian title, had to dig deep before dispatching Nozomi Okuhara in a marathon 89-minute first-round duel.
Chen Yu Fei, third seed Tai Tzu Ying and Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi had no trouble checking into the next round with convincing wins in their opening rounds.
