Peng Soon, Yee See capture maiden title at Russian Open

KUALA LUMPUR: National mixed doubles scratch pair Chan Peng Soon/ Cheah Yee See claimed their first international title after winning the Russian Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton Tournament in Vladivostok, Russia yesterday.

The pair defeated KeiichiroMatsui/ Akane Araki of Japan 11-8, 13-11 and 11-3 in a match held at the Sport Hall Olympic, according to the Badminton World Federation (BWF) website; www.bwfbadminton. com.

Yee See, 22, who is the national back-up shuttler, filled the spot left by Goh Liu Ying who is currently recovering after successfully undergoing a knee treatment at a renowned sports science institute in Germany, recently.

Another Malaysian pair Chooi Kah Ming/Low Juan Shen who are the second seeds in the men’s doubles competition, however, failed to emulate the winning feat of the mixed doubles pair when they lost 6-11, 9-11, 5-11 to top seeds Vladimir Ivanov/Ivan Sozonov of Russia.

Earlier, Soniia Cheah who is also the top seed in the women’s singles suffered an upset, losing 9-11, 115, 5-11,11-5, 4-11 to second seed Evgeniya Kosetskaya of Russia.

The country’s challenge in two other events men’s singles and women’s doubles fizzled out after losing to their respective opponents in the preliminary round of the tournament which uses the 11-point scoring format. - Bernama