# New pairs V Shem–Ee Yi and Yew Sin-Wee Kiong advance to quarters
# Women’s doubles Fie Cho-Jing Yi ousted in second round
There was some cheer for Malaysia in the Bitburger Badminton Open Grand Prix in Saarlandhalle in Saarbrucken, Germany on Thursday with Lee Zii Jia staying alive in the men’s singles to reach the quarter-finals on a day when Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddincame unstuck in the third round.
Malaysia’s men’s doubles pairs of Goh V Shem-Teo Ee Yi and Ong Yew Sin-Tan Wee Kiong added more cheer when the two pairs also advanced to the quarter-finals in the USD120,000 tournament.
The newly formed pairs because of the break-up of V Shem-Wee Kiong in September, are seeded sixth in the tournament and advanced with contrasting wins against their second round opponents on Thursday.
V Shem-Ee Yi, however, were taken the distance before overcoming their Chinese opponents He Jiting-Tan Qiang 21-19, 10-21, 21-19 in 51 minutes to earn a quarter-final clash against Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto.
The fourth seeded Indonesian’s defeated Thailand’s Tin Istiyanet-Kittisak Namdach 21-15, 9-21, 21-17 in 45 minutes.
Yew Sin-Wee Kiong rode to a straight games 21-18, 21-17 win over Denmark’s Mathias Bay-Smidt-Frederik Sogaard and will face another Danish pair – second seeds Kim Astrup-Anders SKaarups Rasmussen, currently ranked 15 in the world.
Zii Jia, ranked No 55 and seeded 14th, scored a stunning victory over sixth seed and world No 33 Qiao Bin of China in straight games 21-17, 21-2 in 37 minutes. For a place in the semi-finals the Malaysian will face third seed Brice Leverdez of France. The Frenchman came through three games to prevail 18-21, 21-9, 21-6 against 11th seed Lin Yu Hsien of Chinese Taipei.
In the first round Zii Jia defeated Lars Schaenzler of Germany 21-14, 21-18 followed by a 21-19, 21-14 win over Artem Pochtarov of Ukraine in the second round.
Iskandar suffered a meltdown in the decider against China’s fifth seed Huang Yuxiang. The Chinese won 21-17, 15-21, 21-8 in a 62-minute encounter in the third round. In the first round Iskandar tamed Samuel Hsiao of Germany 21-10, 21-15. This was followed by another easy 21-16, 21-18 win in the second round over another German Max Weisskerchen.
Malaysia’s campaign in the women’s doubles also came to an end when Soong Fie Cho-Tee Jing Yi fell to a 8-21, 10-21, defeat to Thai second seeds Jongkolphan Kititharakul-Rawinda Prajongjai in only 27 minutes.
RESULTS (Selected)
Men’s singles (Third Round)
Lee Zii Jia (Mas) beat Qiao Bin (Chn) 21-17, 21-12
Huang Yuxiang (Chn) beat Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin (Mas) 21-17, 15-21, 21-8
Men’s Doubles (Second Round)
Goh V Shem-Teo Ee Yi (Mas) beat He Jiting-Tan Qiang (Chn) 21-19, 10-21, 21-19
Ong Yew Sin-Tan Wee Kiong (Mas) beat Mathias Bay-Smidt-Frederik Sogaard (Den) 21-18, 21-17
Bodin Isara-Nipitphon Phuangphuapet (Tha) beat Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub-Ooi Zi Heng (Mas) 21-12, 21-8
Women’s Doubles (Second Round)
Jongkolphon Kititharakul-Rawinda Prajongjai (Tha) beat Soong Fie Cho-Tee Jing Yi (Mas) 21-8, 21-10
