Malaysian men's singles players Lee Zii Jia and Liew Daren were among the national representation to reach the second round of the All-England Open, which got underway on Wednesday, after straight-game victories over their respective opponents.
For Liew, his victory ended a five consecutive first-round loss following his 21-15, 21-19 victory over Toma Junior Popov.
Advertisement
Liew had been battling inconsistency and even contemplated retirement this year, but the 34-year-old was given a new lease after being offered to become Lee Zii Jia’s assistant coach and training partner.Perhaps inspired with his career revival, the Malaysian cut an impressive figure against his French opponent to secure the 39-minute victory to book a showdown with fourth seed Chou Tien Chen on Thursday.
Lee joined his coach in the next round after a 21-16, 21-17 victory over Kenta Nishimoto and next faces promising Canadian youngster Brian Yang.
Juara bertahan All England,Lee Zii Jia menepati ramalan apabila mara ke pusingan kedua selepas mengalahkan wakil jepun,Kenta Nishimoto 21-16,21-17@ASTROARENA pic.twitter.com/uiU7HPpnSt
— wan muiz (@muiz_aziz07) March 16, 2022
In the men’s doubles, fourth seeds Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi were dominant in their 21-14, 21-19 victory over Scottish pair Christopher-Matthew Grimley, but couldn’t set up an all-Malaysian clash after Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin lost.
The German Open champions, perhaps due to lethargy, put up a fight but lost 15-21, 21-19, 11-21 against Chinese pair He Ji Ting-Tan Qiang.
Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi also came through in straight games and next contest against Shohibul Fikri-Bagas Maulana for a place in the last eight.
In the women’s doubles, Pearly Tan-M.Thinaah expectedly overcame their Brazilian opponents and play Japanese pair Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi next.
Ong, meanwhile, got off the winning mark with Goh Liu Ying in the mixed doubles when the scratch pairing beat Callum Hemming-Jessica Pugh 17-21, 21-17, 21-11, but face a big test against Chinese pair Zheng Si Wei-Huang Ya Qiong.
Pemain beregu campuran negara,Goh Liu Ying ataupun Mummy liu ying teruja akhirnya memenangi perlawanan pertama dia bersama gandingang baru Ong Yew Sin@ASTROARENA pic.twitter.com/5JrG1RIjVl
— wan muiz (@muiz_aziz07) March 16, 2022
Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing also prevailed in their first duel to meet Thai pair Supak Jomkoh-Supissara Paewsampran in the next round.
Hoo Pang Ron-Cheah Yee See joined them with a straight-game victory over their Indian opponents, and next contend against Praveen Jordan-Melati Oktavianti for a last eight spot.
There were several early exits too for the Malaysian contingent, with Tan Kian Meng-Tan Wee Kiong, Vivian Hoo-Lim Chiew Sien, Man Wei Chong-Kai Wun Tee, Chen Tang Jie-Peck Yen Wei and Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai all suffering losses.
Man-Kai should however be commended for their fighting spirit and determination as they came within striking distance of pulling off an upset against Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi, before going down 17-21, 21-18, 21-23.
English duo and home favourites Lane/Vendy ??????? confront Tan/Tan ?? in Round of 32 in Birmingham.#BWFWorldTour #AllEngland2022 pic.twitter.com/9oZ2KLCdVo
— BWF (@bwfmedia) March 16, 2022
