Taipei: World No. 1 women’s singles player Tai Tzu Ying survived an early scare at the Chinese Taipei Open on Wednesday as she came from a set down to beat Vietnamese player Vu Thi Trang 17-21, 21-15, 21-7 in 44 minutes.
The reigning Asian Games champion will take on compatriot Chiang Ying-Li in the second round.
Women’s singles No. 2 seed Michelle Li of Canada however was already down and out after being upset, 19-21, 14-21 by local shuttler Liang Ting Yu. Liang will now face her teammate Chen Su Yu in the second round.
In an opening day that full of surprises, No. 3 seed Line Kjærsfeldt of Denmark was also ousted by qualifier Cheung Ying Mei of Hong Kong 14-21, 10-21.
In men’s singles, last week’s Korea Open champion and top seed Chou Tien-chen, gave the home crowd something to cheer for when he dismissed Hu Yun of Hong Kong 21-17, 21-9 in the opening match.
Chou is set to play Misha Zilberman of Israel next.
However, the wild day continued when men’s singles No. 2 seed Wang Tzu-wei of Taiwan was knocked out by Japan’s Riichi Takeshita 17-21, 17-21.
Men’s singles No. 3 seed Daren Liew of Malaysia also lost a hard-fought match to Chinese Taipei qualifier Chen Chi-ting 19-21, 18-21.
Lastly, home favorite and men’s singles No. 4 seed Hsu Jen-hao was stunned by Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia 18-21, 20-22. Lee will take on qualifier Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo on Thursday.
