Early exit: Goh Jin Wei goes down to Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon 13-21, 11-21 in the first round of the Indian Open.
PETALING JAYA: Independent women’s singles shuttler Goh Jin Wei broke into the top 30 in the world yesterday but could not celebrate her rise when she went down to Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon in the first round of the Indian Open.
Jin Wei, who climbed four rungs from No. 33 to No. 29, could not match the 2013 world champion and lost out 13-21, 11-21 at the K.D. Jadhav Indoor Hall in New Delhi.
With the win, world No. 6 Ratchanok extended her unbeaten streak against Jin Wei to four matches.
The Thai will go on to face Spain’s Carolina Marin in the second round tomorrow while Malaysia’s challenge in the women’s singles is over.
For Jin Wei, it’s not all doom and gloom though, as her new ranking means she can qualify for higher-tier tournaments (World Tour Super 750 and 1000) on merit.
The 22-year-old will now look to perform better at the Indonesian Masters from Jan 24-29.
Independent player and world No. 2 Lee Zii Jia will open his campaign against Indonesia’s world No. 24 Shesar Hiren in the men’s singles today.
Zii Jia needs to be on his toes as the Indonesian holds a slight advantage over him, having come out on top in five of their past nine meetings, including the last two at the 2022 Malaysian and French Opens.
Another Malaysian representative, world No. 27 Ng Tze Yong, also has a tricky first round match against China’s world No. 22 Li Shifeng.
Shifeng got the better of Tze Yong in their only previous encounter in senior level at last year’s Hylo Open in Germany.
The competition has already seen its first major upset when Japan’s two-time world champion Kento Momota was toppled by Denmark’s world No. 20 Rasmus Gemke 15-21, 11-21.
World No. 18 Momota, who had been struggling to rediscover his best form last year, had skipped the Malaysian Open last week after coming down with influenza.
“I found it difficult to control the shuttle.
“I’ve recovered from the influenza and physically I felt all right.
“I just need to work harder for the rest of the year,” Momota said in a post-match interview.
