For the second time in an international tournament in Malaysia, Soniia Cheah will face world No 1 and top seed Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei, in the opening round match, hoping that there will be something to cheer on at the Axiata Arena in the USD700,000 Celcom Axiata Malaysia Open which begins on Tuesday.
The lanky Soniia, celebrated her 25th birthday on June 19, is hoping for a belated birthday present although the odds are heavily stacked against her opponent.
Tzu Ying defeated the Malaysian hope in three games in this year’s Perodua Malaysia Masters 18-21, 21-12, 21-12 to take her head-to-head count to 2-0. Her first win Soniia was 21-7, 21-13 victory in the 2013 Sudirman Cup.
“I don’t know what to say but here I am playing her (Tzu Ying) in the first round in the Malaysia Open. I met her at the same stage in the Malaysia Masters,” said Soniia.
Soniia, who has slipped to world No 35 in the latest BWF ranking list, won the silver medal in last year’s SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur -losing to compatriot Goh Jin Wei 11-21, 10-21 in the final.
“I am more focused and in better shape to face Tzu Ying this time and hope to give Malaysian fans something to cheer at Axiata (Arena). Tzu Ying is still the player to beat.”
The winner of the Soniia-Tzu Ying first-round match will face either Canada’s Michelle Li (ranked 13) or Japan’s Sayaka Sato (18) in the second round.
Malaysia’s top-ranked Jin Wei, (320 will face Hong Kong’s Pai Yu Po (23) in the first round. The winner will face either world No 9 Sung Ji-hyun of Korea or Indonesia’s Fitriani Fitriani (42) for a place in the quarter-finals. RIZAL ABDULLAH
