Malaysia’s young pair Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun earned their biggest break in the BWF World Tour as they found themselves vying for the PERODUA Malaysia Masters 2023 title after storming into the finals at Axiata tomorrow.
It was a night to celebrate for the home fans as women’s pair Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan had earlier checked into tomorrow’s finals after defeating Korean pair Jeong Na Eun/Kim Hye Jeong.
Man-Tee were in commanding form and took charge of the first set, winning 21-17 in just 19 minutes but were dragged into a hard point-for-point battle in the second game before finally clinching the game 22-20.
The Malaysian young pair proved their worth, matching and applying continuous pressure on their higher-ranked rivals with an aggressive style of play and solid defence in the last stage before sealing the tie in 27 minutes.
“We were not concerned about their ranking. We had to be aggressive and continuously apply pressure from the start. Our confidence grew stronger after taking the lead in the first set,” said Wei Chong after the match.
Man and Tee are now just one win away from their biggest achievement but will have to be in their best shape and condition against Korean pair Kang Min Hyuk-Seo Seung Jae who made it into the finals after shocking Japan’s doubles ace Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi 21-18, 12-21, 21-16.
“We’re already more than happy to be in the finals…tomorrow against the Korean pair, we’ll have to sit with our coaches to discuss the best approach for tomorrow’s big match,” he added.
SEMIFINAL RESULTS
Men’s Singles:
Prannoy H.S. (IND) bt Christian Adinata (INA) 19-17 (retired)
Weng Hong Yang (CHN) bt Lin Chun-Yi (TAI) 21-13, 21-19
Men’s Doubles:
Man Wei Chong/Tee Kai Wun (MAS) bt Leo Rolly Carnando/Daniel Marthin (INA) 21-17, 22-20
Kang Min Hyuk/Seo Seung Jae (KOR) bt Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi (JPN) 21-18, 12-21, 21-16.
Women’s Singles:
Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (INA) bt Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND) 21-14, 21-17
Akane Yamaguchi (JPN) bt Han Yue (CHN) 21-10, 21-17
Women’s Doubles:
Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan (MAS) bt (5) Jeong Na Eun/Kim Hye Jeong (KOR) 21-19, 23-21
Baek Ha-Na/Lee So Hee (KOR) bt Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara 21-19, 21-14
Mixed doubles:
Deechapol Puavaranukroh/Sapsiree Taerattanachai (THA) bt Seo Seung Jae/Chae Yu Jung (KOR) 21-19, 13-21, 21-17
Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping bt Supak Jomkoh/SupissaraPaewsampran (THA) 21-12, 21-8
FINALS (28 May)
Men’s Singles:
Prannoy H.S. (IND) vs Weng Hong Yang (CHN)
Men’s Doubles:
Man Wei Chong/Tee Kai Wun vs Kang Min Hyuk/Seo Seung Jae (KOR)
Women’s Singles:
Akane Yamaguchi (JPN) vs Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (INA)
Women’s Doubles:
Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan (MAS) vs Baek Ha-Na/Lee So Hee (KOR)
Mixed doubles:
Deechapol Puavaranukroh/Sapsiree Taerattanachai (THA) vs Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping
