Mouth-watering contest: Man Wei Chong (left) and Tee Kai Wun will be crossing swords with Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi for the first time on the world stage.
PETALING JAYA: A battle between junior and senior shuttlers will be the highlight of the day as Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun take on Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi in an all-Malaysian men’s doubles semi-final in the Taiwan Open.
It will be the first time that Wei Chong-Kai Wun are crossing swords with Yew Sin-Ee Yi on the international stage.
Yesterday, both pairs won their respective quarter-final matches in contrasting fashions.
Rising pair Wei Chong-Kai Wun fought brilliantly to upstage fourth seeds Lee Jhe-huei-Yang Po-hsuan of Taiwan 21-19, 21-19 while independent shuttlers Yew Sin-Ee Yi were stretched to the limit before pulling off a hard-fought 15-21, 21-19, 21-17 win over homesters Lee Fang-chih-Lee Fang-jen.
Top seeds Yew Sin-Ee Yi are seeking their first title since winning the Thailand Masters in 2020 but based on current form, Wei Chong-Kai Wun can spoil their party.
Mixed doubles coach Nova Widianto, who is overseeing all the Malaysian players in Taiwan, said: “Tactically, Wei Chong-Kai Wun managed to come out on top. They won many points from service situations.
“For the match against Yew Sin-Ee Yi tomorrow (today), both pairs have an equal chance to win but Wei Chong-Kai Wun might have an advantage in terms of stamina as they are younger.
“Yew Sin-Ee Yi might also be more tired as all their matches so far went to three games.”
The other semi-final will be between homesters – qualifiers Lin Chia-yu-Lin Yong-sheng and second seeds Lu Ching-yao-Yang Po-han.
Meanwhile, national mixed pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei have a golden opportunity to capture the Taiwan Open title.
They dispatched off homesters Yang Po-hsuan-Hu Ling-fang 21-15, 21-14 to set up a meeting against another local pair Ye Hong-wei-Lee Chia-hsin in the semi-finals.
World No. 21 Hong-wei-Chia-hsin ended the run of Hoo Pang Ron-Teoh Mei Xing with a 21-18, 21-14 win.
World No. 19 Tang Jie-Ee Wei are now the highest ranked pair left in the tourney and have a great chance to go all the way and win their second World Tour title.
The duo had captured the Orleans Masters in France in April.
Nova was pleased with Tang Jie-Ee Wei’s performance and backed the pair to continue their good form.
“They played very well today (yesterday) and did not make many mistakes,” said Nova.
“I’m optimistic about their chances to win the title but I don’t want them to become overconfident.
“They need to keep maintaining their performances.”
Based on the head-to-head records, Tang Jie-Ee Wei hold the advantage over Hong-wei-Chia-hsin, having beaten the latter in both their encounters so far.
The former memorably beat the Taiwanese pair in the final of the Orleans Masters and also in a group stage tie in the Sudirman Cup last month.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei, though, need to be wary as Hong-wei-Chia-hsin will have the home support behind them this time and they will also be looking to avenge both the defeats.
Malaysia’s challenge in the men’s singles came to an end after Yeoh Seng Zoe went down 5-21, 17-21 to homester Su Li-yang.
RESULTS
(Malaysians unless stated)
Quarter-finals
Men’s singles: Su Li Yang (Tpe) bt Yeoh Seng Zoe 21-5, 21-17 ; Chico Aura (Ina) bt Kenta Nishimoto (Jpn) 21-13, 21-15; Wang Tzu-wei (Tpe) bt Lin Chun-yi (Tpe) 21-13, 24-22.
Men’s doubles: Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi bt Lee Fang-chih-Lee Fang-jen (Tpe) 15-21, 21-19, 21-17; Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun bt Lee Jhe-huei-Yang Po-hsuan (Tpe) 21-19, 21-19.
Women’s singles: Pitchamon Opatniputh (Tha) bt Sung Shuo-yun (Tpe) 19-21, 21-14, 21-8 ; Pornpicha Choeikeewong (Tha) bt Pai Yu-po (Tpe) 21-14, 21-18; Zhang Beiwen (US) bt Putri Kusuma (Ina) 21-15, 21-17; Tai Tzu-ying (Tpe) bt Supanida Katethong (Tha) 21-16, 21-6.
Women’s doubles: Febriana Dwipuji-Amalia Cahaya (Ina) bt Annie Xu-Kerry Xu (US) 21-14, 21-15.
Mixed doubles: Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei bt Yang Po-hsuan-Hu Ling-fang (Tpe) 21-15, 21-14; Ye Hong-wei-Lee Chia-hsin (Tpe) bt Hoo Pang Ron-Teoh Mei Xing 21-18, 21-14; Tseng Min-hao-Hsieh Pei-shan (Tpe) bt Chang Ko-chi-Lee Chih-chen (Tpe) 22-20, 12-21, 21-15; Chiu Hsiang-chieh-Lin Xiao-min (Tpe) bt Jafar Hidayatullah-Aisyah Salsabila (Ina) 21-12, 19-21, 21-17.
