BANGKOK, Feb 1 — National men’s singles Ng Tze Yong notched up an opening-round win in the 2023 Thailand Masters held at the Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok today.
The 22-year-old Ng took 40 minutes to defeat Brazil’s Ygor Coelho 21 – 19, 21 – 10. He will now face Heo Kwang Hee of South Korea tomorrow.
Independent shuttler Cheam June Wei moved into the Round of 16 after scoring an impressive 21 – 18, 21 – 17 victory over Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen. He will face Hong Kong’s Angus Ng Ka Long tomorrow.
However, another independent, Soong Joo Ven failed to clear the first round, losing 16 – 21, 25 – 23, 20 – 22 to Hong Kong’s Chan Yin Chak.
Meanwhile, mixed doubles pairs of Goh Soon Huat – Shevon Lai Jemie and Chan Peng Soon – Cheah Yee See began their respective campaigns with a win.
World number seven Soon Huat – Shevon took 20 minutes to beat Israel’s world number 62 pair Misha Zilberman – Svetlana Zilberman 21 – 9, 21 – 14. They will now face either Japanese duo Hiroki Midorikawa – Natsu Saito or China’s Cheng Xing – Chen Fang Hui.
Peng Soon – Yee See, ranked 34 in the world, beat Taiwanese duo Chang Ko Chi – Lee Cheh Chin 18 – 21, 21 – 19, 21 – 15. They will face Indonesian pair Amri Syahnawi – Winny Oktavina Kandow tomorrow.
Meanwhile, men’s doubles pair Low Hang Yee – Ng Eng Cheong moved into the second round after defeating Indonesian pair Sabar Karyaman Gutama – Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani 27 – 25, 21 – 16. They will be up against Indonesia’s Muhammad Shobihul Fikri – Bagas Maulana.
In the women’s singles, S. Kisona, who left the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) last month, succumbed to a 19 – 21, 21 – 15, 12 – 21 defeat to Thailand’s Pornpicha Choeikeewong.
— Bernama
