Kuching: Malaysian badminton maestro Lee Chong Wei has advanced into the second round of the Malaysia Open with a straight-sets victory over Rajiv Ouseph of England at the Perpaduan Negeri Sarawak Stadium in Petra Jaya on Wednesday.
Lee was a class apart and produced another commanding display as he defeated Ouseph 21-16, 21-18 in 43 minutes. Lee who is in the quest to claim his 12th Malaysia Open singles title will set up a meeting with Hu Yun of Hong Kong next who had battled past Denmark’s Anders Antonsen 21-17, 19-21, 21-10.
Lee Chong Wei’s old foe Lin Dan however had to dig deep to get through to the second round after fending off a spirited challenge from Sai Praneeth of India 18-21, 21-19, 21-18 in 71 minutes. Lin will play Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk of Thailand in the second round.
Rio Olympic champion Chen Long also got off to a strong start when he raced to a 14-0 start in the first set against Wei Nan of Hong Kong to eventually beat Wei 21-4, 21-9 in the first round. Chen is set to meet teammate Huang Yuxiang on Thursday.
In women’s singles, No. 1 seed Tai Tzu Ying and No. 2 seed Carolina Marin both cruised into the second set after seeing off their respective opponents in straight-sets. Next up, Tai will play teammate Pai Yu Po next while Marin will take on Nitchaon Jindapol of Thailand.
Despite a competitive fight, the Indonesia/Malaysia men’s doubles pair Hendra Setiawan/Tan Boon Heong went down to Mohammad Ahsan/Rian Agung Saputro 10-2, 21-15, 19-21 in the first round.
