Taipei: Malaysia’s World No. 23 men’s pair – Man Wei Chong/Tee Kai Wun, are on the verge of successfully defending their hard-earned Taipei Open title as they advanced to the final on Saturday.
After losing the first set to compatriots and World No. 6 Ong Yew Sin/Toh Ee Yi, Man/Tee making a remarkable comeback to eventually beat the No. 1 seeds 17-21, 21-19, 21-9 in the gripping semi-final match held at the Tian-Mu Arena, University of Taipei.
Highlights of Man Wei Chong/Tee Kai Wun vs. Ong Yew Sin/Toh Ee Yi in the 2023 Taipei Open semi-finals:
This will be the second final appearance for the Man/Tee of the season. They had previously become the runners-up at the Malaysia Masters last month.
Man/Tee, who have had their fair share of injury setbacks in the last two years, will face World No. 15 Lu Ching Yao/Yang Po Han in the final.
In 2022, Man/Tee clinched the Taipei Open title for the first time by defeating the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games gold medalists, Lee Yang/Wang Chi Lin, in an intense final showdown 21-18, 11-21, 21-18.
The men’s singles semi-finals saw Taiwan’s 21-year-old Su Li Yang pull off a huge upset to down World No. 16 Angus Ng Ka Long of Hong Kong 21-11, 21-15.
Highlights of Su Li Yang vs. Angus Ng Ka Long in the 2023 Taipei Open semi-finals:
After the match, Su couldn’t believe what he had achieved and he even forgot to shake hands with his opponent after the match.
“It’s unbelievable, and I don’t have much thought about the match,” said Su.
Su will meet Indonesian player Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo in the final.
