Good job: Man Wei Chong (left) congratulates China’s Liang Wei Keng as Tee Kai Wun shakes hands with Wang Chang. — AP
PETALING JAYA: Men’s doubles shuttlers Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun can hold their heads high after finishing runners-up in the Indonesian Open.
The world No. 20 gave China’s world No. 2 Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang a run for their money before going down 21-19, 16-21, 12-21 in 55 minutes in the final at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta yesterday.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun started brightly and led 20-18 in the first game before wrapping up the victory but could not maintain their performance after that.
Despite the defeat, it was still an impressive showing in the tournament from the pair, who stunned South Korea’s reigning world champions Kang Min-hyuk-Seo Seung-jae in the first round and silenced the home crowd by beating Indonesia’s Sabar Karyaman-Moh Reza 29-27, 21-13 in a nail biting semi-final match.
It was also Wei Chong-Kai Wun maiden World Tour Super 1000 final and their first podium finish since coming second in the Arctic Open in Vantaa, Finland, last October.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun last won a title in the Taiwan Open last July.
On the match against Weikeng-Wang Chang, Kai Wun told the Badminton World Federation (BWF): “In the first game, we did not think too much and tried to focus on our game play and tried to win every point.
“In the second game, we were leading but they got back their rhythm and we started to slow down a bit and it ended up costing us.
“Most importantly, their mentality is very strong and we have to learn from this and improve.”
Wei Chong said: “Overall, our performance in this tournament was not bad but we could not play our best in the end.
“We have gained a lot of experience and confidence though and we need to train harder and get better.”
Wei Chong-Kai Wun have managed to regain some of their best form after a disappointing start to the year that saw them suffer early round exits in all their tournaments except the Swiss Open in March and Malaysian Masters last month where they made it into the quarter-finals.
The pair will now get a break from tournaments before competing next in the Japan Open in August.
Meanwhile, it was Weikeng-Wang Chang’s third individual title this year after they also captured the Malaysian Open in January and Asian Championships gold in April.
The Chinese pair will head to the Paris Olympics next month as one of the favourites for the gold.
RESULTS
Semi-final
Men’s singles: Anders Antonsen (Den) bt Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha) 21-15, 19-21, 21-11; Shi Yuqi (Chn) bt Li Shifeng (Chn) 19-21, 21-19, 21-14.
Men’s doubles: Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (Mas) bt Sabar Karyaman-Moh Reza (Ina) 29-27, 21-13; Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang (Chn) bt Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (Den) 21-13, 21-15.
Final
Men’s singles: Shi Yuqi (Chn) bt Anders Antonsen (Den) 21-9, 12-21, 21-14.
Men’s doubles: Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang (Chn) bt Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (Mas) 19-21, 21-16, 21-12.
Women’s singles: Chen Yufei (Chn) bt An Se-young (Kor) 21-14, 14-21, 21-18.
Women’s doubles: Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee (Kor) bt Chen Qingchen-Jia Yifan (Chn) 21-17, 21-13.
Mixed doubles: Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin (Chn) bt Zheng Siwei-Huang Yaqiong (Chn) 21-11, 21-14.
