Man-Tee upset world champions again, set to face Goh-Izzuddin

dd yy September 21, 2024 0

The national men’s doubles duo of Man Wei Chong and Tee Kai Wun showed resilience at the China Open, bouncing back fearlessly.

Ranked No. 13 in the world, they overcame last week’s quarter-final exit at the Hong Kong Open with an impressive 21-19, 21-19 victory against the South Korean world champions Kang Ming-hyuk and Seo Seung-jae at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Changzhou.

This marks their second win against the world No. 3 pair in five encounters, having previously defeated them in the first round of the Indonesian Open in June. Ming-hyuk and Seung-jae had recently captured the Hong Kong Open title.

Kai Wun expressed excitement about reaching the quarter-finals of a Super 1000 event and aims to improve on last week’s performance. “We’re really happy; sometimes winning feels even sweeter after a loss,” he noted. “My partner and I trusted each other’s game, staying relaxed without adding too much pressure.”

Wei Chong pointed out that their opponents had been on a demanding schedule after their Hong Kong Open victory, which might have left them fatigued. “They’ve had back-to-back competitions recently, which probably made them a bit tired. We just focused on playing our best and secured the win.”

Wei Chong and Kai Wun will now face fellow Malaysians Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani in the quarter-finals, who triumphed over countrymen Yap Roy King and Wan Arif Wan Junaidi with scores of 21-14, 25-23 in the second round. Sze Fei and Izzuddin are seen as favorites after their victory over Ming-hyuk and Seung-jae for the Japan Open title.

In other matches, Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi also advanced to the quarter-finals by defeating Taiwanese twins Lee Fang-jen and Lee Fang-chih with scores of 21-16, 21-16. They are set to compete against Indonesia’s Fajar Rian and Rian Ardianto next.