KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 — Former Asian Junior men’s singles champion Leong Jun Hao turned on the style to play with power and panache and storm into the final of the inaugural KL Masters at Titiwangsa Stadium today.
The 2017 Asian junior champion was in his element as he downed South Korea’s Choi Ji Hoon 21 – 17, 21 – 16 in a 38-minute semi-final clash.
The 24-year-old will take on Taiwan’s Lee Chia Hao in the showdown tomorrow as he seeks to end his one-year title drought since winning the Indonesia Masters in Malang in October last year.
Lee denied Malaysian fans the all-Malaysian final they craved when he ousted Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin 21 – 15, 24 – 22 in the other men’s singles semi-final.
There was more good news for Malaysia in men’s doubles as professional pair Low Hang Yee – Ng Eng Cheong, ranked 49th globally, moved one step closer to winning their first-ever Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour title.
The duo, however, had to battle for 67 minutes to subdue South Koreans Kim Young Hyuk – Wang Chan 21 – 16, 19 – 21, 21 – 15 in the semi-finals of the Super 100 tournament.
In tomorrow’s final, the Malaysians will take on Chen Cheng Kuan – Chen Sheng Fa after the Taiwanese duo dispatched another national professional pair — Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub – Tan Wee Kiong — 15 – 21, 21 – 15, 21 – 15 in the other semi-final.
Low – Ng have been making good progress this year, having won three lower-tier tournaments — the Slovenia Open, the Austrian Open, and the Mongolian International Challenge — and this is the first time they have made the final of a World Tour event.
“We did not think too much about it (the final) until the final game… win or lose, we only focused on our game. We trust each other and communicate a lot. It feels great, and I think we did a pretty decent job today,” said Ng, 24.
World number 44 Chan Peng Soon – Cheah Yee See, meanwhile, stayed in the hunt for their first title since resuming their partnership in May last year by disposing of Taiwan’s Chen Zhi Ray – Yang Ching Tun 21 – 10, 22 – 20 in today’s semi-finals.
Chan, who won the mixed doubles silver medal with Goh Liu Ying in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, and Cheah will face Pakkapon Teeraratsakul – Phataimas Muenwong in tomorrow’s final after the Thai pair defeated another Malaysian pair — Choong Hon Jian – Go Pei Kee — 21 – 17, 21 – 17 in today’s last four.
“Although this is just a Super 100 tournament, this victory is crucial in terms of boosting our confidence after some dismal performances of late,” said Peng Soon.
In their previous partnership, Chan – Cheah won the 2017 Russian Open and also the bronze medal in the 2017 KL SEA Games.
— Bernama
