Japan Open: Malaysian gets off to a good start

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Boon Heong defeats Hiroyuki Endo and Kenichi Hayakawa for sweet revenge

Tokyo: In the first round of Japan Open, Malaysia’s scratch pair Tan Boon Heong and Goh V Shem created the biggest upset of the day by trashing third seeds, Japanese Hiroyuki Endo-Kenichi Hayakawa 21-13 and 21-11. This would be a very sweet revenge for Boon Heong mainly due to him and Hoon Thien How suffered a heart-breaking lost to the Japanese pair at the Thomas Cup final last month.Boon Heong defeats Hiroyuki Endo and Kenichi Hayakawa for sweet revenge

In another demonstration of the resilience and never-say-die spirit by Chong Wei Feng, he came from behind and won a hard fought battle against sixth seed Son Wan-ho 15-21, 21-17 and 21-15 in a 67 minutes match. Hope Wei Feng could continue this mentality when he square-off against Lin Dan tomorrow, who defeated his compatriot Xue Song 21-15, 21-18 in the first round of Japan Open.

“I took me sometime trying to adapt to Son Wan-ho’s style of playing. I was able to take advantage of his mistakes in the decider to eventually seal the deal,” said Wei Feng.

World number one Lee Chong Wei cruised passed the first round easily by defeating Kueh Chun Shih in 39 minutes with 21-15,21-13. He will play clash with Germany’s Marc Zwiebler in the second round.

World No. 7 Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong managed to pull out a hard-fought victory as the pair overcame Hong Kong’s Chan Yun Lung-Lee Chun Hei 12-21, 21-11, 24-22.

“We haven’t play together in international tournaments for quite a while. We are still adjusting to each other, but I think we will play better in our next game,” said Wee Kiong. The duo will play Maneepong Jongjit and Nipitphon Puangpuapech from Thailand in the second round.

Other Malaysian doubles such as Vivian Hoo Kah Mun-Woon Khe Wei and Chan Peng Soon-Lai Pei Jing also progressed to the second round.

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