Courting lady luck
Good fortune may decide Peng SoonLiu Ying’s ticket to World Superseries Finals
PETALING JAYA: Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying are hoping that lady luck will smile on them at the Hong Kong Open.
The Hong Kong Open, which begins in Kowloon on Wednesday, is the last tournament that offers ranking points for shuttlers to qualify for the BWF World Superseries Finals in Dubai from Dec 14-18.
After the 11th leg ended at the China Open on Sunday, Peng Soon-Liu Ying are involved in a two-way fight with Japan’s Kenta Kazuno-Ayane Kurihara to win the last spot in the mixed doubles for the Finals. Only eight pairs after the 12-leg Tour get to play in the Finals.
The top seven pairs assured of their places are Ko Sung-hyunKim Ha-na of South Korea, Lu Kai-Huang Yaqiong of China, Joachim Fischer Nielsen-Christinna Pedersen of Denmark, China’s Zheng Siwei-Chen Qingchen, Chris AdcockGabriele Adcock of England and Indonesians Praveen Jordan-Debby Susanto and Tantowi Ahmad-Lilyana Natsir.
Liu Ying-Peng Soon are ninth, one rung below KentaAyane.
Said Liu Ying: “We are in a tricky situation now.
“We can make it if we reach at least the quarter-finals in Hong Kong.
“But if we lose early, it will then depend on Kenta-Ayane’s performance.”
Liu Ying-Peng Soon, the Olympic silver medallists, were once ranked fifth before Peng Soon injured his ankle in the second round of last month’s Denmark Open. They dropped to eighth after skipping the next stop – the French Open.
Hopes were high on Liu YingPeng Soon to improve on their ranking at the China Open but they lost to Zhang Nan-Li Yinhui of China in the second round in Fuzhou on Thursday.
Liu Ying-Peng Soon also face the prospect of another early exit in Kowloon although they are seeded fourth.
“We have a challenging draw from the first round onwards. The good news is that Peng Soon and I are in better condition and, hopefully, we can seal a ticket to the Finals.”
The Malaysians face unseeded Yoo Yeon-seong-Chang Ye-na of South Korea in the first round. If they win, Liu YingPeng Soon face Zhang NanHuang Dongping of China.
Besides Liu Ying-Peng Soon, the other Malaysians taking part are Tan Kian Ming-Lai Pei Jing (mixed doubles); Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin (men’s singles); Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong, Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong and Lim Khim Wah-Ong Jian Guo (men’s doubles) and Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei and Chow Mei Kuan-Lee Meng Yean (women’s doubles).
We are in a tricky situation now. We can make it if we reach at least the quarter-finals in Hong Kong. Goh Liu Ying