KUALA LUMPUR, July 6 — National men’s singles main shuttler Ng Tze Yong is delighted at the prospect of meeting Taiwanese star Chou Tien Chen in the second round of the 2022 Malaysia Masters tomorrow.
This, Tze Yong said, was due to the fact that he rarely got a chance of meeting top shuttlers in the tournaments that he participated in in the past.
The world number 48 player had earlier sprung a surprise against world number 31 Brian Yang, 21 – 15, 21 – 15, in their first-ever meeting in the opening round of the Malaysia Masters, in Axiata Arena here today.
The 22-year-old shuttler was pretty pleased that he managed to catch the Canadian player by surprise as he dominated the opponent from start to finish en route to winning the game.
“I felt good about my performance earlier as I managed to stage an upset against Brian and I hope to be more consistent tomorrow,” he told reporters after the match against Yang.
Meanwhile, it was another first-round exit for the veteran, Liew Daren, as he went down to the eighth seed, Ng Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong, 17 – 21, 15 – 21.
In the 2022 Malaysia Open last week, Daren fell to India’s shuttler, H.S. Prannoy 14 – 21, 21 – 17, 17 – 21.
“I admitted I was a little slow today. In fact, I played in pain due to a back groin injury that I suffered since Thailand Open last week, but moving forward I just hope to get some rest,” Daren said.
Independent player, Soong Joo Ven’s journey in this tournament was also halted at the hands of China’s Li Shi Feng, losing in straight sets, 14 – 21, 12 – 21.
Meanwhile, national shuttler Leong Jun Hao failed to progress to the second round after he succumbed to Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen.
After losing 12 – 21 in the first set, Jun Hao fought back in the second before conceding 18 – 21.
— Bernama
