Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia has secured an early slot in the quarter-finals of the Malaysia Masters in the men’s doubles event after two pairs, Muhammad Haikal Nazri/Choong Hon Jian and Man Wei Chong/Tee Kai Wun, are set to face off in the second round on Thursday.
Highlights of Muhammad Haikal/Choong Hon Jian vs. Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub/Tan Wee Kiong in the first round of 2024 Malaysia Masters:
Haikal/Choong advanced after defeating fellow countrymen Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub/Tan Wee Kiong 22-20, 21-19 in the first-round match at Axiata Arena Bukit Jalil on Tuesday.
This victory sets up a meeting with Man Wei Chong/Tee Kai Wun, who earlier secured their second-round ticket by overcoming the Taiwanese pair, Chiang Chien Wei/Wu Hsuan Yi, 22-20, 21-12.
Haikal expressed his eagerness to face Man Wei Chong and Tee Kai Wun, eyeing the opportunity to advance to the quarter-finals.
He mentioned that if they win the upcoming match and move into the top eight, they might face the third-seeded pair of the tournament, He Ji Ting/Ren Xiang Yu.
“I want to face them and seek revenge for our loss in the Thomas Cup semi-finals. If we meet them, I want to give my best.”
“I prefer strong opponents, so there’s no pressure. With that mindset, we can enjoy the game just like when we won our first trophy against Akira Koga/Taichi Saito. The pressure will be on Wei Chong and Kai Wun as last year’s runners-up,” said Haikal.
Man Wei Chong/Tee Kai Wun’s win on Tuesday allowed them to avenge their loss to the same Taiwanese opponents in the first round of the Australian Open last August.
“For today’s match, we changed our game strategy after losing to them at the Australian Open. We made many simple mistakes back then.”
“At the start of the game, we made the same mistakes, but then we changed our mentality and came up with more effective ideas, which helped us find our true rhythm,” said Tee Kai Wun after the match.
Meanwhile, another Malaysian men’s doubles pair, Wan Arif Wan Junaidi/Yap Roy King, had no trouble advancing to the second round after defeating Xie Hao Nan/Zeng Wei Han of China 21-16, 21-12.
They will face the fourth-seeded pair from Taiwan, Lee Jhe Huei/Yang Po Hsuan, who won 21-15, 21-15 against Christo Popov/Toma Junior Popov from France.
Also advancing was the fifth-seeded pair, Nur Izzuddin Rumsani/Goh Sze Fei, who defeated fellow Malaysians Low Hang Yee/Ng Eng Cheong 21-11, 21-19.
They will face the winners of the match between Thailand’s Peeratchai Sukphun/Pakkapon Teeraratsakul and Hong Kong’s Law Cheuk Him/Yeung Shing Choi in the second round.
In women’s doubles, Go Pei Kee/Low Yeen Yuan eliminated the Ukrainian pair, Polina Buhrova/Yevheniia Kantemyr, 21-15, 21-15, and will face the eighth-seeded Australian pair, Setyana Mapasa/Angela Yu.
