Kuala Lumpur: A long-awaited victory in the first round of Malaysia Open allowed World No. 38 Tan Kian Meng/Lai Pei Jing breathed a sigh of relief as they shocked World No. 3 mixed doubles pair Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino of Japan 21-16, 21-15 on Tuesday.
“Even though this was just a first round match, but I am glad we were able to pull off an upset,” said Tan.
“Thanks to our coaches especially Chin Eei Hui and all our supporting staff. Pei Jing played really well today, it’s team work,” added Tan.
Next up, Tan/Lai will take on Pranaav Jerry Chopra/Reddy N. Sikki of India on Thursday.
Another Malaysian mixed doubles pair, the World No. 5 Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying also entered the second round by overcoming Kohei Gondo/Ayane Kurihara of Japan 21-13, 21-19.
However, Goh Liu Ying was not satisfied with her performance and admitted she made a lot of errors in her first round action.
“We were not able to convert some easy points due to my own mistakes,” said Goh.
The No. 5 seeds will take on Ricky Karandasuwardi/Pia Zebadiah Bernadet of Indonesia in the second round.
In women’s singles, Malaysia’s Soniia Cheah lost to fourth seed from Japan, Akane Yamaguchi 16-21, 17-21.
