KUALA LUMPUR: Men’s doubles shuttlers Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi are hoping that their relaxed approach can bring them into the semi-finals of the Malaysian Open for the first time.
Thanks to the cool and calm strategy, Yew Sin-Ee Yi continued their great run in the home tournament by reaching the last eight after battling hard to beat South Korea’s 2023 world champion Kang Min-hyuk and his new partner Jin Yong 23-21, 16-21, 21-18 at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
It was an impressive win for the independent pair over the tricky Koreans a day after they sensationally sent Indonesian fourth seeds Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto packing.
Yew Sin-Ee Yi are hoping to progress to the last four in the competition for the first time after losing in the quarter-finals in the last three editions (2022, 2023 and 2024).
No homester has reached the Malaysian Open semi-finals since the tournament was upgraded from World Tour Super 750 to 1000 status in 2023.
In 2022, two home men’s pairs Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani made it into the last four.Yew Sin believes that a relaxed approach has been key to the world No. 24 pair’s fine form in the tournament after struggling last year.
“Our relaxed approach to matches is working for us. We can play more freely and focus better,” said Yew Sin.
“It was a close match for us against the Koreans today (yesterday). They didn’t give away any easy points. They kept putting pressure on us and we also wanted to get points too much and ended up making some mistakes.”
Ee Yi said: “Regardless of whether it’s China or South Korea, scratch pairings are not easy to play against because individually all are strong players.
“We found it hard to penetrate our opponents’ defence which was solid and they were also consistent.
“We needed to stay patient. These two wins give us a lot of confidence but we can’t afford to be too comfortable or proud.
“This match is over now and we need to rest first then prepare for the next match.”
Yew Sin-Ee Yi will next take on India’s 2022 Asian Games champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty who beat Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub 21-15, 21-15 for a place in the semi-final.
Wee Kiong-Azriyn had earlier booked their spot in the second round after overcoming China’s Xie Haonan-Zeng Weihan 21-15, 12-21, 21-18 on Wednesday.
