Where the men’s singles flopped there is a possibility of an all-Malaysia final in the men’s doubles in the USD150,000 Princess Sirivannavari Thailand Masters in Bangkok.
In the quarter-final matches played at the Huamark Indoor Stadium on Friday top seeds Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong – playing their first tournament after quitting the national team earlier this month – and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin marched into the last four.
In the all-Malaysian quarter-finals V Shem-Wee Kiong had no difficulty getting past sixth seeds Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi 21-12, 21-16 in 30 minutes. Sze Fei-Izzuddin also ran out easy winners over eighth seeds Arif Abdul Latif-Nur Azriyan Ayub 21-8, 21-14 – taking a three minutes longer.
In the semi-finals on Saturday former world No 1 V Shem-Wee Kiong will face unseeded Japanese pair Akira Koga-Taichi Saito who downed China’s Di Zijian-Wang Chang in a come from behind 16-21, 21-12, 21-7 win.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin have a tough semi-final encounter against fifth seeds Lu Ching Yao-Yang Po Han of Chinese Taipei – who had a tough three-game one battle before prevailing 16-21, 21-12, 21-14 against Japan’s Keiichiro Matsui-Yoshinori Takeuchi.
Earlier in the mixed doubles defending champions and top seeds Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying advanced to the last four and will play Hong Kong’s eighth seeds Tang Chun Man-Ng Tsz Yau for a place in the final. RIZAL ABDULLAHÂ
