Kuala Lumpur: Four Malaysian men’s singles players dominated the Malaysia International Series after beating their respective opponents on Friday.
The No. 1 seed Soong Joo Ven was barely troubled by Indonesian player Gatjra Piliang Cupu, defeating the defending champion 21-12, 21-7 in 31 minutes.
Soong will be playing compatriot Lim Chong King, who shocked the No. 3 seed from Canada, Sheng Xiaodong 22-20, 21-16 in the quarter-finals.
The No. 2 seed Cheam June Wei, also produced a brilliant display to outlast Yonathan Ramlie of Indonesia 24-22, 21-9.
Cheam will take on fellow countryman Tan Jia Wei who beat another Malaysian player Lim Chi Wing 21-14, 21-12 in the last eight.
Meanwhile, in women’s singles, Selvaduray Kisona who was looking for her third consecutive Malaysia International Series title, had to dig deep to beat No. 6 seed Hooi Yue Yann Jaslyn of Singapore 12-21, 21-13, 21-16 in 56 minutes. The unseeded Kisona will take on No. 7 seed Sri Fatmawati of Indonesia on Saturday. Fatmawati was able to pull of an upset to beat No. 2 seed from Malaysia, Ho Yen Mei 21-17, 21-18.
The Malaysian camp also has two men’s doubles (Low Hang Yee/Ng Eng Cheong, Chen Tang Jie/Chia Wei Jie), two women’s doubles (Anna Ching Yik Cheong/Lim Chiew Sien, Tan Pearly Koong Le/Muralitharan Thinaah), and two mixed doubles pairs (Man Wei Chong/Tan Pearly Koong Le, Hoo Pang Ron/Cheah Yee See) advanced to the semi-finals. They will all be facing their respective opponents from Indonesia in the last four.