Jayce
Mixed doubles pair Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin impressed in the Hong Kong Open, reaching the quarter-finals of a World Tour Super 500 event for the first time. They hope to build on this momentum.
Since being paired last November, Pang Ron-Su Yin had struggled in higher-tier tournaments, but they finally made a breakthrough yesterday at the Hong Kong Coliseum in Kowloon, defeating Taiwan’s Lin Bing-wei-Lin Chih-chun 21-14, 21-15.
A day earlier, the world No. 40 pair stunned Singapore’s world No. 15 Terry Hee-Jessica Tan in the opening match.
Before this year, Pang Ron-Su Yin only made it past the early rounds once in the Super 300 Orleans Masters, where they reached the semi-finals. Pang Ron expressed his satisfaction with their performance in Hong Kong, saying that he believes they are heading in the right direction.
“Su Yin and I controlled the game better today (yesterday) compared to the first round,” Pang Ron said. “We tried to minimize mistakes, and eventually, things improved for us. This has boosted our confidence. Of course, we still have a lot to work on, but at least we know we’re on the right path. Our partnership is getting stronger day by day.”
However, Pang Ron-Su Yin now face a tough challenge in the quarter-finals today against China’s top seeds Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping.
Meanwhile, Korean Open champions Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei have also advanced to the quarter-finals. Tang Jie-Ee Wei won the first game 21-14 and led 4-1 in the second against home pair Reginald Lee-Ng Tsz Yau when the latter retired due to injury.
The world No. 9 Malaysians will next face China’s world No. 49 Guo Xinwa-Chen Fanghui for a place in the semi-finals.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei had defeated Guo Xinwa and his former partner Li Qian in the Korean Open final two weeks ago.
In men’s singles, Leong Jun Hao narrowly missed an opportunity as he lost 14-21, 21-15, 22-24 to Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu. The world No. 29 made a strong comeback to win the second game after dropping the first to the world No. 15, but could not hold on despite leading 12-5 in the decider and squandering two match points at 20-19 and 21-20.
