Mixed pair Kian Meng and Pei Jing raise eyebrows at Malaysia Open.
Kian Meng’s near-bald look the good luck charm as mixed pair shock world No. 3
IT WOULD seem that all it took was a new haircut to get back the winning feeling.
National mixed doubles shuttler Tan Kian Meng was spotted with a near-bald haircut as he and his partner Lai Pei Jing powered into the second round by chalking a big upset in the Malaysia Open at Bukit Jalil yesterday.
The duo played some of the best badminton of their career to take down world No. 3 and AllEngland finalists Yuta WatanabeArisa Higashino of Japan 21-16, 21-15 in 37 minutes.
After dominating the first game, Kian Meng-Pei Jing were on fire to gain a 12-3 lead in the second.
The Japanese pair would cut that down to 18-15 but the Malaysians kept a cool head to win the next three points and the match.
It was the pair’s first win of the year after first-round exits in the Malaysian and Indonesian Masters as well as the German and All-England Opens earlier this year.
“It’s our first win of the year, so we’re very happy. I’ve said many times that we hope to bring to the court what we always do during training and I feel that during this match we did that and played to our best which helped us win today,” said Pei Jing.
Kian Meng-Pei Jing are proving to be the Achilles Heel of the Japanese hotshots as they had also defeated the pair two years ago in the Sudirman Cup with a score of 21-16, 16-21, 21-19.
“We beat them back before they became All-England champions (in 2018), so I was excited to meet them here today (yesterday) and to see where their standard is now.
“I really cannot believe that we could beat them in two games.
“The win today really boosts our confidence because this year even though we lost in the first round, it was all in rubber games so our performance was not bad.”
“And what I felt was important was to get back that winning feeling and now we feel confident again.”
For Kian Meng, he said the win was a meaningful one and thanked their coach Chin Ee Hui and the Badminton Association of Malaysia for the win.
“I suddenly had the urge to cut my hair yesterday (Monday) and it was to throw away any bad luck I had over the last two years, so it looks like my hairstyle is powerful,” joked Kian Meng.
“But to win our first game of the season and at home and in such a big upset, we really have to thank coach Ee Hui and BAM because they continued to support us even though our performance was going down.”
Kian Meng-Pei Jing’s next challenge will be against India’s C. Pranaav Jerry-R. N. Sikki as they fight for a place in the quarter-finals on Thursday.