National men’s singles Lee Zii Jia along with eight other Malaysians have made the cut to the quarterfinals of the Swiss Open after overcoming their respective opponents in the second round today.
Zii Jia put up a solid game with the No. 2 seed edging past Denmark’s Victor Svendsen with a straight set victory 21-15, 21-11.
The 22-year-old will face B Sai Praneeth from India next.
In the men’s doubles, Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong continue to set the pace when they defeated the fourth seeded pair from England, Marcus Ellis-Chris Langridge.
But the win was by no means easy for Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong when they had to come back from a first set defeat before they were able to win 10-21, 21-15, 21-15.
They will now take on the sixth-seeded duo from Denmark, Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen for a place in the semifinals.
“It took a while to adjust to the way the opponents played but once we got in the groove in the second set we were more focused as we became more confident.
“In the third set, even though we were behind early in the game, we did not give up where we aimed at just winning point by point,” said Hang Yee.
While Hang Yee-Eng Cheong were made to sweat, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik had an easy day when they were awarded a walkover following the withdrawal of Danish pair Jeppe Bay-Lasse Mølhede.
However, a different fate befell the two national professional doubles, Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yii and Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong.
Yew Sin-Ee Yii, as the fifth seed, overcame Denmark’s Joel Eipe-Rasmus Kjær 21-18, 21-13 as third seed V Shem-Wee Kiong, fell to a surprise defeat at the hands of German duo, Mark Lamsfuss-Marvin Seidel 19-21, 19-21.
In the women’s doubles, Chow Mei Kuan-Lee Meng Yean and Pearly Tan-M Thinaah continue to bring their challenge to the quarterfinals.
Mei Kuan-Meng Yean, seeded second, sealed a 21-18, 21-17 straight-set victory over Germany’s Linda Efler-Isabel Herttrich and where they will now play seventh seed from Canada, Rachel Honderich-Kristen Tsai in the quarterfinals.
Pearly-Thinaah coast past Russian pair, Anastasiia Akchurina-Olga Morozova 21-16, 21-18 to set a date against Denmark’s Amalie Magelund-Freja Ravn next.
“So far, our combination play is getting better but on a more personal note, I still need to improve my stamina and consistency.
“The next match will be tough for sure but we will still strive to advance to the semi-finals. We need to remind ourselves on the importance of being patient,” said Pearly.
Added Thinaah: “For today’s match, we played quite well even though at the start, we made a lot of mistakes. However, we managed to take control and rein in the situation.
“We have to make sure that we do not put pressure on ourselves. The important thing is to just focus on one game after another.”
The mixed doubles will also see three national representatives in the quarterfinals with No. 1 seed, Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying leading the charge when they sidestepped French duo, Ronan Labar-Anne Tran 21-12, 21-16.
They will take on Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Bøje from Denmark next.
Following in the footsteps of Peng Soon-Liu Ying was Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing who defeated German duo Jones Ralfy Jansen-Kilasu Ostermeyer with a straight set victory 21-14, 21-17.
Kian Meng-Pei Jing who is also the fifth seed will face the pair from India Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Ashwini Ponnappa in the quarterfinals.
Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie also sealed a straight-set victory over Rasmus Espersen-Christine Busch from Denmark 21-10, 21-15.
The fourth seed will now play the sixth-seeded duo from France Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue as they hunt for a slot to the final four.
