Tokyo: World No. 1 badminton superstar Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia left the Japan Superseries Open main draw unscratched after opening the tournament with a straight-sets win.
The Malaysian, a five-time winner here, worked tirelessly to secure a 21-14, 21-13 victory against Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana in only 36 minutes.
Lee who earned his third silver medal in Rio Olympics, will take on Qiao Bin of China in the second round.
However, Malaysia’s No. 2 men’s singles player Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin suffered a surprise defeat in the opener to India’s H.S. Prannoy, losing 21-23, 21-19, 18-21.
While still riding high after winning silver medal at Rio Olympics, Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong of Malaysia came out strong to demolish Thailand’s Bodin Isara-Nipitphon Phuangphuapet 21-12, 21-7 on Wednesday. The Malaysian pair are set to play China’s Huang Kaixiang-Wang Yilu on Thursday.
“Wee Kiong and I have been training hard for the Japan Open, and we don’t have any pressure playing in the tournament,” said Goh V Shem.
The Rio Olympic mixed doubles silver medalists Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying also advanced to the Japan Open second round. Chan/Goh outlasted England’s Matthew Nottingham-Emily Westwood 21-13, 21-15 to set up a second round match with Jacco Arends-Selena Piek of the Netherlands.
