In good spirits: Ng Qi Xuan is being stretchered into the ambulance after injuring her knee. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
PETALING JAYA: A serious knee injury to independent shuttler Ng Qi Xuan put paid to her hopes of reaching the women’s doubles final in the Malaysia Super 100 with Yap Rui Chen.
Qi Xuan and Rui Chen were just one point away from a stunning win over the Badminton Association of Malaysia’s (BAM) Teoh Mei Xing-Go Pei Kee after taking the first game 22-20 and leading 20-18 in the second game at the Stadium Juara in Bukit Kiara yesterday.
Qi Xuan, though, landed awkwardly when attempting to smash and hurt her knee.
The 24-year-old immediately screamed in pain and was attended to by medics before being stretched off.
It was a sad end to Rui Chen-Qi Xuan’s hopes after doing well to stay ahead of Pei Kee-Mei Xing in the match.
Pei Kee and Mei Xing were visibly upset after seeing their opponent’s injury and were in no mood to celebrate after reaching the final.
“We feel very sorry for Qi Xuan. She and Rui Chen tried their best in court, so it’s really sad to see this happen,” said Pei Kee.
“This is the first time that we saw an opponent get a serious injury in a match and we feel really sad.
Mei Xing said: “It’s sad for this to happen when they had match points. I hope Qi Xuan can recover as soon as possible and come back to play.”
Mei Xing-Pei Kee, who are the fourth seeds in the tournament, will take on Taiwan’s top seeds Nicole Chan-Yang Chu-yun for the title today.
Meanwhile, independent men’s doubles pair Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong also made into the final after beating Taiwan’s Ye Hong-wei-Wu Hsuan-yi 21-19, 21-17.
It will be Hang Yee-Eng Cheong’s second consecutive final in the competition after finishing runners-up in last year’s edition.
Standing in their way to the title will be Americans Chen Zhi-yi-Presley Smith.
Hang Yee-Eng Cheong are out to capture their first title of the year.
“It feels amazing to reach the final again. We missed out on the title last year and we want to win this time,” said Eng Cheong.
SEMI-FINAL RESULTS
(Malaysians unless stated
)Men’s singles: Jason Teh (Sin) bt Riku Hatano (Jpn) 8-21, 21-18, 21-11; Chi Yu-jen (Tpe) bt Koo Takahashi (Jpn) 26-24, 21-8.
Men’s doubles: Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong bt Ye Hong-wei-Wu Hsuan-yi (Tpe) 21-19, 21-17; Chen Zhi-yi-Presley Smith (US) bt Chaloempon Charoenkitamorn-Worrapol Thongsanga (Tha) 22-24, 21-19, 25-23.
Women’s singles: Manami Suizu (Jpn) bt Akari Kurihara (Jpn) 19-21, 21-19, 21-18; Kaoru Sugiyama (Jpn) bt Asuka Takahashi (Jpn) 17-21, 21-15, 21-15.
Women’s doubles: Nicole Chan-Yang Chu-yun (Tpe) bt Lui Lok Lok Tsang Hiu Yan (Hkg) 23-21, 21-18; Teoh Mei Xing-Go Pei Kee bt Ng Qi Xuan-Yap Rui Chen 20-22, 18-20, ret.
Mixed doubles: Yuichi Shimogami-Sayaka Hobara (Jpn) bt Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien 21-19, 21-14; Ye Hong-wei-Nicole Chan (Tpe) bt Wu Hsuan-yi-Yang Chu-yun (Tpe) 21-12, 21-13.
