# End of the road for Yen Mei in women’s singles
Top seeds Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei sailed into the semi-finals of the USD120,000 Skycity New Zealand Open Grand Prix Gold in Auckland on Friday.
However, it was the end of the road for another women’s doubles pair Joyce Choong-Goh Yea Ching who bowed out to fourth seeds Ayako Sakuramoto-Yukiko Takahata after titanic 88 minute battle. The Japanese won 30-28, 11-21, 22-20.
Malaysia’s hopes in the women’s singles also ended when Ho Yen Mei came unstuck against Indonesia’s second seed Fitriani Fitriani in three games.
Yen Mei who upset Indonesian sixth seed Yulia Yosephin Susanto 21-13, 21-16 in the second round on Thursday, got off to roaring start in the first game with a 9-21 win but crumbled in the second and went down 10-21.
In the rubber the 21-year-old Yen Mei was not able to match her opponent’s aggressive play and went down 13-21 in 50 minutes.
Vivian Hoo-Khe Wei, who were “grounded” after their first round defeat in the Indonesia Open, are Malaysia’s hopes for the gold medal in the 29th Sea Games in Kuala Lumpur later this month.
The New Zealand Open is their last stop before the biennial games and need to boost their confidence after dismal run this year. Vivian Hoo-Khe Wei won the gold at the Myanmar Sea Games in 2013 and the silver in Singapore in 2015. – BY RIZAL ABDULLAH
