Ipoh: Mixed doubles top seeds Tan Kian Meng/Lai Pei Jing have advanced to the mixed doubles quarter-finals of the Malaysia National Championships that took place at Dewan Seri Perdana, Kolej Sains Kesihatan Bersekutu Azlan Shah, Ulu Kinta on Wednesday.
The World No. 9 Tan/Lai eased past Ahmad Maziri Mazlan (Kelantan)/Hazair Noor Hazwani (Terengganu), 21-19, 21-9 in 28 minute to set up an encounter with Ooi Zi Heng (Kedah)/Lim Peiy Yee (Selangor) on Thursday.
Mixed doubles No. 2 seeds Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Jemie Lai also produced an excellent match by beating Mohd Razif Ab Latif (Negeri Sembilan)-Ng Sin Er (Kedah) in straight sets 21-19, 21-10 to advance to the quarterfinals. Goh/Lai will play Muhammad Amzzar Zainuddin/Lee Zhi Qing for a semi-final berth.
Due to the absence of his regular partner, Rio Olympic silver medalist Chan Peng Soon was paired up with Chow Mei Kuan. The duo had to work hard to scrap past Shia Chun Kang/Yap Rui Chen (Johor) 21-17, 16-21, 21-15 in 39 minutes.
“Mei Kuan has been a women’s doubles player. She still wasn’t familiar with the mixed doubles rotation,” said Chan after the match.
“We do not set any targets for this tournament, just take it one match at a time,” added Chan.
Meanwhile, the biggest upset of the day came from Yogendran Krishnan, who knocked off No. 4 seed and former Asian junior champion Soo Teck Zhi 21-16, 16-21, 23-21 in 51 minutes. Yogendran Krishnan will play Misbun Ramdan Mohmed Misbun in the men’s singles second round on Thursday.
