Hitting it off fast: National mixed doubles pair Hoo Pang Ron (right) and Cheng Su Yin, who had only been paired up last month, pulled off an upset over Taiwan’s world No. 34 Chang Ko-chi-Lee Chih-chen at the Syed Modi International. — BAM
PETALING JAYA: Mixed doubles pair Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin have impressed coach Nova Widianto with their fine run in the Syed Modi International.
Pang Ron-Su Yin, who had only been paired up last month, pulled off a stunning 23-21, 21-15 victory over Taiwan’s world No. 34 Chang Ko-chi-Lee Chih-chen in the quarter-finals in Lucknow yesterday.
It was the former’s second big upset of the tournament after they had toppled Japan’s world No. 13 Hiroki Midorikawa-Natsu Saito in the first round.
Nova was pleased with Pang Ron-Su Yin’s performance so far in only their third competition together.
“Reaching this far in this tournament is already a good achievement for Pang Ron-Su Yin,” said Nova.
“They are a new combination but have managed to upset much higher ranked pairs so far.
“Winning the Malaysian International Challenge title last month really boosted their confidence. “I hope they can advance even further in India,” added Nova.
Pang Ron-Su Yin, who are currently ranked No. 175 in the world, have another stern test against Japan’s world No. 24 Yuki Kaneko-Misaki Matsutomo in the last four today.
Men’s doubles pair Choong Hon Jian-Mohd Haikal Nazri are also through to the semi-finals after teammates Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi conceded a walkover in their last-eight match.
Roy King was forced to pull out after suffering a knee injury.
World No. 93 Hon Jian-Haikal had come from behind to claim an impressive 11-21, 25-23, 21-10 win over Germany’s world No. 24 Mark Lamsfuss-Marvin Seidel a day earlier and will likely face England’s second seeds Ben Lane-Sean Vendy in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s challenge is over in the men’s and women’s singles after the exits of Soong Joo Ven and Wong Ling Ching.
Independent player Joo Ven lost out 16-21, 17-21 to Frenchman Alex Lanier while Ling Ching went down fighting 21-19, 17-21, 15-21 to Taiwan’s Wen Chi-hsu.
RESULTS
(Malaysians only)
Second round
Men’s doubles: Choong Hon Jian-Mohd Haikal Nazri bt Mark Lamsfuss-Marvin Seidel (Ger) 11-21, 25-23, 21-10. n Quarter-finals
Men’s singles: Alex Lanier (Fra) bt Soong Joo Ven 21-16, 21-17.
Men’s doubles: Choong Hon Jian-Mohd Haikal Nazri w.o. Yap Roy King-Wan Arif Wan Junaidi. Women’s singles: Wen Chi-hsu (Tpe) bt Wong Ling Ching 19-21, 21-17, 21-15.
Mixed doubles: Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin bt Chang Ko-chi-Lee Chih-chen (Tpe) 23-21, 21-15.
