Malaysian men’s doubles pair Wan Arif Wan Junaidi and Yap Roy King continued their remarkable run by defeating the top Danish duo Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in the first round of the Hong Kong Open. The 20th-ranked Malaysians, who recently won the Macau Open, emerged victorious 21-19, 23-21 in 42 minutes.
The two pairs are now tied with one win each in their head-to-head encounters. Wan Arif-Roy King’s upset comes as a boost for Malaysia after the early exit of top seeds Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik. In the second round, they will face the winners of Choong Hon Jian-Haikal Nazri versus South Korea’s Kim Gi Jung-Kim Sa Rang.
Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun Advance
Another Malaysian men’s doubles team, Man Wei Chong and Tee Kai Wun, defeated compatriots Nur Azriyn Ayub and Tan Wee Kiong 21-19, 21-12. They will meet Taiwan’s Lee Jhe Huei and Yang Po Hsuan in the next round.
Women’s Doubles: Pearly-Thinaah Cruise, Go-Teoh Battle Through
World No. 2 women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah dominated Hong Kong’s Chun Wing Chi and Yu Yi Kiu, winning 21-9, 21-9. They will face either China’s Chen Qingchen-Keng Shuliang or Indonesia’s Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma-Meilysa Trias Puspita Sari in round two.
Another Malaysian women’s doubles duo, Go Pei Kee and Teoh Mei Xing, fought hard to defeat Hong Kong’s Fan Ka Yan and Yau Mau Ying 21-15, 17-21, 21-12 in a nearly one-hour match.
Men’s Singles: Justin Hoh and Aidil Sholeh Progress
Justin Hoh advanced from the qualifiers with a 21-23, 21-13, 21-18 win over India’s Tharun Mannepalli. He will face France’s Toma Junior Popov in the first round, with a potential second-round clash against Lee Zii Jia or Leong Jun Hao.
Meanwhile, world No. 43 Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin also progressed after defeating England’s Ngam Heng Ling 21-7, 21-13. He will meet Taiwan’s world No. 26 Chi Yu Jen in tomorrow’s opening round.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin Battle Past China
Second seeds Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani overcame China’s Xie Haonan and Zeng Wei Han 21-12, 11-21, 21-19 in a 50-minute men’s doubles match. The world No. 3 pair, who have won eight BWF World Tour titles since 2022, will face Taiwanese twins Lee Fang Chih and Lee Fang Jen in round two.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin, despite a strong record in recent years, have had a challenging season with only the India Open title in January and a runner-up finish at the Japan Open in July.
