HANGZHOU, Oct 3 — National men’s singles shuttler Ng Tze Yong stunned former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in a second-round match of the Hangzhou Asian Games individual badminton competition at the Binjiang Gymnasium today.
The 23-year-old was calm and composed to dominate the match before notching a 21 – 12, 21 – 14 straight sets victory over the world number nine Loh, who became the first Singaporean to lift the world championship title in 2021.
In the battle for the quarter-finals tomorrow, Ng is set to face world number 35 Kantaphon Wangcharoen of Thailand, who beat Hussein Zayan Shaheed of the Maldives 21 – 3, 21 – 5.
“My performance today was good, but improvement is needed in every game, need to discuss with coach (Hendrawan). Tomorrow’s match will be a 50 – 50 affair, as Kantaphon is more senior in the competition, and I have never played him before.
“I have a problem with consistency, sometimes I can beat the top players, and sometimes I cannot maintain that consistency. I know what the problem is, and I hope to overcome the shortfall,” he said after the match today.
Meanwhile, the country’s top women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan – M. Thinaah marked their Asian Games debut with an easy victory over Singapore’s Jin Yu Jia – Crystal Wong Jia Ying 21 – 12, 21 – 16 and advanced to the round of 16.
The 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games gold medalists will be challenged by Thailand’s world number 10 pair Jongkolphan Kititharakul – Tharawinda Prajongjai, who defeated Pakistan’s Mahoor Shahzad – Ghazala Siddique 21 – 5, 21 – 7.
Another women’s doubles pair, Valeree Siow – Go Pei Kee, saw their Asian Games campaign end by losing 21 – 9, 21 – 13 in straight sets to world number five pair Chiharu Shida – Nami Matsuyama of Japan.
— Bernama
