Bangkok: Former World No. 1 men’s pair Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Heong swept into the Thailand Masters quarter-finals in just 39 minutes with a quick-fire win over South Koreans Choi Solgyu/Kim Jae Hwan on Wednesday.
The Malaysian eighth seeds powered past the unseeded Choi/Kim 21-16, 21-15 and will face South Korea’s second seeds Kim Gi-Jung/Kim Sa-Rang in the last eight.
Another Malaysian pair Goh V Shem/Tan Wee Kiong also advanced after edging Thailand’s qualifiers Inkarat Apisuk/Sutichon Pol-Gul with 21-11, 21-17 in second round, which booked them a quarter-final date with No. 1 seeds Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan.
In women’s doubles, Malaysia’s top women’s doubles pair Vivian Hoo Kah Mun/Woon Khe Wei had to end a spirited fightback from Tiara Rosalia Nuraidah/Rizki Amelia Pradipta of Indonesia in three sets and reach the quarter-finals with a 17-21, 21-14, 21-19 victory.
Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying achieved an unexpectedly easy win over Rian Swastedian/Apriani Rahayu of Indonesia to claim the second round win with 21-10, 21-8 in 21 minutes.
Unfortunately, Malaysian men’s shuttlers – Zulfadli Zulkiffli and Tan Chung Seang all bowed out in men’s singles third round.
Zulfadli Zulkiffli lost his third round 17-21, 14-21 to South Korean Son Wan Ho while Tan Chun Seang was eliminated from the tournament 17-21, 21-18, 9-21 to another South Korean player Jeon Hyeok Jin.
