Game for the familiar: Hoo Pang Ron and Cheng Su Yin will face compatriots Yap Roy King-Valeree Siow in the second round of the China Open today.
PETALING JAYA: Mixed doubles shuttlers Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin caused an upset at the China Open after taking down Taiwan’s Yang Po-hsuan-Hu Ling-fang yesterday.
The world No. 32 pair only needed 28 minutes to defeat their 13th ranked opponents 21-17, 21-16 at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Changzhou, China.
Pang Ron-Su Yin, who were only combined together last November, knew well enough that their lower ranking would give their opponents more pressure on court.
“They are higher-ranked players, so of course the pressure is on their side. We managed to drift the shuttle better than our opponents,” said Pang Ron.
The Malaysians recently went up the ranks from 40th to 32nd after reaching their first World Tour Super 500 quarter-final at the Hong Kong Open last week.
The fresh combo are making progress but know that there are still loads to come their way. But for now, a little goes a long way.
“Every little improvement and rise in rankings will surely be a boost for our confidence, but we have much more to learn,” said Pang Ron.
“We will go step by step and for sure work even harder in the future.
Even though it hasn’t even been a year since they were paired together, there is good chemistry between them.
Pang Ron-Su Yin will meet compatriots Yap Roy King-Valeree Siow in the second round today after the world No. 54 received a first-round bye.
Going up against your fellow countrymen is never easy but Pang Ron-Su Yin are looking forward to seeing familiar faces on court today.
“We always train together, and we know each other very well.
“Hopefully we can give a great show in the next round,” said Pang Ron.
Meanwhile, mixed doubles duo Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing also advanced to the second round as they downed India’s Sumeeth Reddy-Sikki Reddy 21-10, 21-16.
They face Denmark’s Jesper Toft-Amalie Magelund in the second round today.
