In a surprising turn at the China Open, mixed doubles pair Hoo Pang Ron and Cheng Su Yin defeated Taiwan’s Yang Po-hsuan and Hu Ling-fang, ranked 13th in the world. The Malaysian duo, ranked 32nd, won 21-17, 21-16 in just 28 minutes at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Changzhou.
Pang Ron and Su Yin, who have only been playing together since November, managed to pressure their higher-ranked opponents by controlling the shuttle better. Despite their recent rise from 40th to 32nd after a strong performance at the Hong Kong Open, they acknowledge that they still have much to learn.
The pair will face compatriots Yap Roy King and Valeree Siow in the second round after receiving a first-round bye. They anticipate a challenging match but are eager to demonstrate their growing chemistry on court.
In other news, Tan Kian Meng and Lai Pei Jing also advanced to the second round, defeating India’s Sumeeth Reddy and Sikki Reddy 21-10, 21-16. They will next compete against Denmark’s Jesper Toft and Amalie Magelund.
Lai Pei Jing is a Malaysian female badminton player.
In 2009, Lai Pui Kwan represented the Malaysian national badminton team to compete in the World Junior Badminton Championships held in Alor Setar, Malaysia, and helped the national team to win the second place in the mixed team; a year later, she competed in the World Junior Badminton Championships held in Guadalajara, Mexico, where she not only won the third place in the mixed team, but also the third place in the mixed doubles with Au Yew Han.
In November 2011, Lai Pui Kwan and **Kuen competed in the Malaysia International Challenge and won the mixed doubles final with a 2-0 victory over the Indonesian pair.
In August 2012, Lai Pui Kwan and **Kuen came second in the Mixed Doubles final of the Vietnam Grand Prix, defeating Indonesia’s Malkis Kido/Pia Zebadia Bernadette 0-2.
In 2016, Lai Pei Jun began partnering with Chen Jian Ming in mixed doubles, and the pair reached the finals of the Malaysian Masters, Polish Open, Chinese Taipei Open, and Indonesian Masters, winning the Vietnam Grand Prix and Thailand Golden Grand Prix.
In January 2017, Chan Kin Ming and Lai Pui Kwan returned to the Malaysian Masters after one year and won the mixed doubles final, defeating teammates Goh Soon Huat/Lai Jie Min 2-0 (21-17, 21-9) to win the title.
In February 2021, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) decided to expel Lai from the national team after he was deemed to have performed poorly in the two World Tour events and the Grand Final organized by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) in Thailand. Although Chan Kin Ming was retained by the national team, he chose to join Lai Pei Jun in his pursuit of the Tokyo Olympics as a free agent.
In April 2022, Chan and Lai won the Korea Open final in straight sets (21-15, 21-18), defeating hosts Ko Sung-hyun/Yim Hye-won to win the title after five years.
World Ranking – MixedDoubles 15, Week 30, 2024
Olympic Points – MixedDoubles 24, 46580 points
Finals Ranking – MixedDoubles 11, 48940 points
Equipment Used
THRUSTER F Falcon Black Gold; AURASPEED 90F; JETSPEED S 10; VBS-63; JETSPEED S 12; VBS-68; AURASPEED 70F A; SHA960; AURASPEED 90F new color; A930
Major Achievements
2024 Australian Open Badminton Women’s Doubles Runners Up
2024 Australian Badminton Open Mixed Doubles quarter-finals
2024 Indonesia Badminton Open Mixed Doubles Quarter-finals
2023 China Badminton Open Mixed Doubles Quarter-finals
2022 Badminton World Federation Year End Finals Mixed Doubles Quarter-finals
2022 Commonwealth Games Badminton Mixed Doubles Bronze Medalist
2022 Commonwealth Games Badminton Mixed Team Gold Medal
2022 Korea Open Mixed Doubles Champion
2022 Swiss Open Mixed Doubles Quarter-finals
2022 India Open Badminton Mixed Doubles Quarter-finals
