KUALA LUMPUR: Rising men’s singles shuttler Ng Tze Yong caused a huge upset when he stunned seventh seed Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia 21-16, 14-21, 21-5 in the first round of the India Open on Wednesday.
The 21-year-old Johor shuttler had to slog for an hour to dispose of the world No. 28 Indonesian at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall in New Delhi.
Tze Yong, ranked 60 in the world, will face Frenchman Lucas Claerbout in the second round on Thursday.
Meanwhile, 2016 Rio Olympics mixed doubles silver medallist Chan Peng Soon and his new partner, Valeree Siow got off to a winning start when the fifth seeds thrashed India’s Raju Mohamed Rehan-Anees Kowsar Jamaludeen 21-4, 21-9 in just 20 minutes.
“This is our first match (together), so far our combination is good... We hope we can continue (to keep) the rhythm (so as) to be able to challenge more powerful opponents,” Peng Soon said in a video clip shared by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).
They will be up against another Indian pair, Kashish Sharma-Saruni Sharma, as they seek to qualify for quarterfinals on Thursday.
The most-anticipated showdown tomorrow for Malaysian fans will be the one between national professional shuttler Soong Joo Ven and newly-crowned world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore.
Joo Ven easily eliminated India’s Chirag Sen 21-8, 21-7 in the opening round yesterday while Kean Yew cleared the first round by disposing of Canada’s Xiaodong Sheng 16-21, 21-4, 21-13. – Bernama