Malaysia Open: Hong Kong badminton pair Tang and Tse kick off new season with win, as Ng and Lee crash out in singles
- Mixed doubles duo win first round at US$1.25 tournament in Kuala Lumpur
- But both Angus Ng and Lee Cheuk-yiu suffer early exits in men’s singles
Tse Ying-suet shook off a foot injury as she and Tang Chun-man battled into the second round of the Malaysia Open in the mixed doubles on Tuesday, getting their 2023 season off to a winning.
The Hong Kong duo overcame a tough test against Scotland’s Adam Hall and Julie Macpherson, ultimately winning in three games 21-18, 19-21, 21-19 at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur.
Head coach Tim He Yiming praised the pair’s fighting spirit, and revealed that they had been hampered in training by a series of injuries.
“Tse was still nursing a foot injury before leaving for Kuala Lumpur and could not train too hard,” He said. “We are so glad that they still made it through as it was a very close battle, especially in the deciding game.
“In the end, their experience paid off. Our pair had to work point for point, hanging in there with the best effort they could offer before wrapping up the match after almost an hour.”
The pair have not played since Tse dislocated her shoulder during training in October, just before she and Tang were expected to leave to compete in two events in Denmark and France.
Tse and Tang have been the city’s top players for the past several years, finishing fourth at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and winning bronze at the 2021 World Championships in Huelva, Spain.
It was a different story for Angus Ng Ka-long and Lee Cheuk-yiu in the men’s singles, however, with both falling at the first hurdle.
Ranked 15 in the world, Ng started his match against sixth seed Anthony Ginting of Indonesia by taking the opening game 21-17, but that was as good as it got against the world No 4, who recovered to win the next two games 21-18, 21-12.
The head coach said Ng had tired towards the end of the match, and the player’s stamina was a problem “we will have to address”.
“Both players delivered and it was an exciting match,” said He. “But Ng seemed to be running out of stamina in the rubber game and that’s why he lost.”
Lee, meanwhile, squandered five match points before losing to Kanta Tsuneyama of Japan 2-1 (3-21, 21-5, 23-21). Lee easily took the first game before his opponents responded in the second.
In the deciding game, Lee built a 20-16 lead before Tsuneyama clawed his way back to level at 20-all for deuce. Lee again led 21-20 with one match point in hand, but Tsuneyama then took three points a row to claim victory.
In the women’s doubles, Yeung Nga-ting and Yeung Pui-lam put up a brave effort before losing to Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Pullella of India 21-19, 21-14 in the opening round.
“There were strong [wind] currents inside the venue and our players found it difficult to deal with,” the head coach said.
“The first game was OK when they played against head wind, as they could hit the shuttlecock as hard as possible, but the second game was too difficult for them to control the shuttlecock against tail wind. They still have a lot to learn.”
