AARON-WOOI YIK’S GALLANT RUN IN KOREAN OPEN ENDS
Juan Shen-Kah Ming reach semis to keep Malaysian flag flying
PETALING JAYA: Trust the independent shuttlers to deliver.
Former internationals Low Juan Shen-Chooi Kah Ming kept the Malaysian flag flying at the Korean Open when they sensationally reached the men’s doubles semi-finals in style in the US$600,000 (RM2.48mil) event in Seoul yesterday.
Juan Shen-Kah Ming, who were deemed not good enough by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) and dropped in July, continued their smashing run by overcoming Thailand’s Kittinupong Kedren-Dechapol Puavaranukroh 21-19, 14-21, 21-15 in the last eight.
The world No. 75 are now just two matches away from a historic victory in the tournament.
No Malaysians have won the men’s doubles title at the Korean Open yet since the tournament’s inception in 1991 and Juan Shen-
Kah Ming want to give it a shot.
“At this point, we want to dream big ... we’re so close to our career breakthroughs. We are going for the title,” said Juan Shen.
“It really makes a difference when one plays without pressure. That’s why we are able to perform better.”
Waiting for Juan Shen-Kah Ming in the last four are world No. 13 Hiroyuki Endo-Yuta Watanabe of
Japan, who ended Malaysian pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik’s gallant run in the other quarter-final match.
World No. 25 Aaron-Wooi Yik lost 20-22, 14-21.
It was also the end of the road for Malaysia in the women’s doubles event.
World No. 1 Yuki FukushimaSayaka Hirota of Japan proved too hot to handle for Chow Mei Kuan- Lee Meng Yean as the Malaysian world No. 15 went down tamely 13-21, 14-21.
In the men’s singles, Japanese Kento Momota’s hopes of celebrating his crowning as the new world No. 1 with a win went up in smoke after an ankle injury forced him out of action.
Momota, who created history as the first Japanese to top the men’s singles world ranking, conceded a walkover to compatriot Kenta Nishimoto.
Indonesia continued to flex their muscles in the men’s singles with Asian Games gold medallist Jonatan Christie and Tommy Sugiarto making it to the last four.
They could have had three, but Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen, who finished runner-up to Jonatan at the Asian Games, denied China Open champion Anthony Ginting from joining his other two teammates with a convincing 21-13, 21-11 victory.