World No 1 Lee Chong Wei showed he was back in business when he
crushed Wang Zhengming of China 21-17, 21-19 to reach the men's singles
quarter-finals in the All-England at National Indoor Arena.
And the good news is that Chong Wei will have a handful of company in the quarter-finals this time.
He
will be joined by two men doubles pairs - Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong
and Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari and women
doubles shuttlers Woon Khe Wei-Vivian Hoo, who surprised everyone with
their breakthrough performances Thursday.
A day after surviving
from the brink of defeat against Hong Kong's Wong Wing Ki, top seed
Chong Wei turned on a classic display of confidence to beat the former
world junior champion Zhengming and set-up a meeting against his old
rival Nguyen Tien Minh of Vietnam.
Chong Wei had played against
Tien Minh for a total of 10 times. The Malaysian had won all except for
the 2009 Singapore Open. Then, he had lost in the second round.
Today, the two-time All-England champion Chong Wei has promised to keep the Malaysian flag flying.
"Unlike on the first day, I played much better today and I feel good about it going into the quarter," said Chong Wei.
"But
credit must be given to Zhengming for trying his best to unsettle me. I
am still focused on winning my third All-England title here," he added.
Two
other Chinese players - Chen Long and Chen Jin marched to the second
round with convincing wins too. They will take on respectively.
It
was a day of mixed fortune for Malaysia in the men's doubles when world
No 2 pair Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong were sent packing by unseeded
Maneepong Jongjit-Nipitphon Puangpuapech of Thailand. The Thais upstaged
the Malaysians 21-17, 21-18 in just 34 minutes.
Fortunately,
Thien How-Wee Kiong and Zakry-Fairuzizuan made up for Kien Keat-Boon
Heong's uninspiring performances by marching into the last eight
confidently.
Thien How-Wee Kiong ended the gallant run of
Germany's Ingo Kindervater-Johannes Schoettler with a sensational 21-15,
21-15 win. The Germans had upset South Koreans Lee Yong-dae-Ko
Sung-hyun on the first day.
KLRC's Fairuzizuan-Zakry also did well to beat Ricky Karanda Suwardi-Mohd Ulinnuha 21-19, 21-15 in convincing styles.
On
Friday, Thien How-Wee Kiong will face reigning Malaysian Open champions
Mohd Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia while Zakry-Fairuzizuan meets
China's Liu Xiaolong-Qiu Zihan, who did well to pack off hot favourites
and top seeds Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen of Denmark with a superb
11-21, 21-11, 27-25 win.
The biggest suprise of the day for
Malaysia Thursday came through women shuttlers Khe Wei-Vivian. They
pulled off a stunning upset 21-13, 17-21, 21-17 over fourth seeds Eom
Hye-won-Jang Ye-na of South Korea in a match that lasted for one hour
and three minutes.
They will take on Japan's Miyuki Maeda-Satoko Suetsuna on Friday for a place in the semi-final.
Said
Vivian: "We are so happy because this is a big breakthrough for us. And
more importantly, this win proved that Khe Wei is back at her best from
her knee injury."
"It be will tough against the Japanese but I think, we stand an equal chance if continue to play confidently."
The Star
No comments:
Post a Comment