Almere: Malaysia’s unseeded shuttler Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin advanced to the third round after picked up two victories on opening day of the Dutch Open.
The World No. 68 Malaysian pulled an upset today when he brushed aside No. 14 seed Anand Pawar of India 21-10, 21-15 in his first match.
Iskandar then dispatched Rhys Walker of England 21-14, 21-11 to set up a third round clash with Ville Lang of Finland.
On the other hand, Zulfadli Zulkiffli managed to take a first step toward his bid of the Dutch Open title on Wednesday, beating Lucas Claerbout of France 21-11, 21-10 in his opening match. Nevertheless, in his second match of the day, Zulfadli fought hard to take a set off Ville Lang but ultimately lost in three, bowing out 20-22, 23-21, 15-21 in 74 minutes.
2013 Asian Junior Championships winner Soo Teck Zhi also got off to a winning start at Dutch Open, downing Lucas Corvee of France 21-18, 21-16 in 37 minutes. Teck Zhi survived a second set scare before he ramped up his performance and advanced safely to the third round of the Dutch Open with a three-set 21-15, 17-21, 21-14 victory over Pablo Abian of Spain in his second match on Wednesday.
Goh Soon Huat also made it through in his first two men’s singles matches and will play Kestutis Navickas of Lithuania next.
After the withdrawal of No. 1 seeds England pair Marcus Ellis/Chris Langridge, last week’s Thailand Open men’s doubles runners-up Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong have the best odds of winning their third title of the year at Dutch Open. Koo/Tan will kick off their campaigns against George Galvas/Panagiotis Skarlatos of Greece on Thursday.
