Malaysian men’s and women’s doubles shuttlers impressed at the Kumamoto Masters in Japan despite an early first-round exit for Man Wei Chong–Tee Kai Wun, who lost to Japan’s Hiroki Midorikawa–Kyohei Yamashita in straight games.
World No 4 men’s doubles shuttlers Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani eased past South Korea‘s Kang Min Hyuk–Ki Dong Ju 21–17, 21–13 in 30 minutes and will face the winners of the all-Japanese clash between Tori Aizawa–Daisuke Sano and Keiichiro Matsui–Katsuki Tamate.
Women’s doubles pair Ong Xin Yee–Carmen Ting upset Taiwan’s world No 11 pair Sieh Pei Shan–Hung En Tzu 22–20, 18–21, 21–10 and will meet Japan’s Rui Hirokami–Sayaka Hobara in the second round.
The men’s doubles saw winning performances from Tan Wee Kiong–Nur Azriyn Ayub (21–16, 21–14), Wan Arif Wan Junaidi–Yap Roy King (21–19, 21–12), Choong Hon Jian–Haikal Nazri (21–19, 21–16), and Ong Yew Sin–Teo Ee Yi (21–18, 21–18). They will all be facing tough second-round opponents.
In men’s singles qualifying, Kok Jing Hong defeated Taiwan’s Huang Yu Kai 21–16, 19–21, 21–15 to secure a spot in the last-32 tomorrow.
