Mew Choo scalps world No. 1 Yihan in second round
News 10:01 AM
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s Wong Mew Choo stamped her class once again in China after two years when she dumped world No. 1 and top seed Wang Yihan in the second round of an Open dubbed as one of the toughest tournaments on the world circuit.
Mew Choo was not given a ghost of a chance to survive in Shanghai yesterday but the 26-year-old surprised everyone with a sensational 21-18, 21-17 win over the new Chinese star in a 36-minute match to march into the quarter-finals.
The win, in a way, made up for Malaysia’s dismal performances in the men’s singles event when sole survivor Wong Choong Hann lost to South Korean Park Sung-hwan 23-21, 18-21, 13-21 in the second round yesterday.
It followed world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei’s elimination by Denmark’s Jan O Jorgensen in the first round the previous day.
For Mew Choo, it was her best career win since she last defied the odds in overcoming several top Chinese players at their home Open to win the title in 2007.
Yesterday, Mew Choo was up against a player who has sensationally shot into stardom in just a year.
The 21-year-old Yihan started with three titles in a row – the German Open, All-England and Swiss Open. She followed up with triumphs in the Open tournaments in Macau, Japan and France.
Mew Choo will be out to clear another Chinese hurdle in Wang Shixian today and she has vowed to go all out to keep her momentum going.
“I did not give up the fight from the start and I am so happy that I was able to pull off my best win this season today,” said Mew Choo in a telephone interview.
In the opening game, Yihan raced to a 12-6 lead but not before Mew Choo muscled her way back to win it.
Everyone had expected Yihan to fight back but a confident Mew Choo did not allow it to happen and took control and held match-point at 20-12. Yihan reeled off five straight points before Mew Choo silenced the home crowd by wrapping up the match.
“It has been so long since I felt good about myself. This win certainly gives me a lot of confidence,” said Mew Choo, whose career had often been hampered by injuries.
“I was better prepared this time. So many people has helped during my rehabilitation programme. It is important to have the support.
“Hopefully, I can keep this going. At least, I can now look forward to the Laos SEA Games with more confidence (she was the gold medallist in the 2003 Games in Hanoi).”
National coach Misbun Sidek hoped that a good outing in China would resurrect Mew Choo’s badminton career.
“It is a feat indeed to beat a exceptional talent like Yihan in her own backyard. Mew Choo is a good player but constant injuries had shattered her confidence,” he said.
“She played brilliantly today and we hope that this will be another start for her to rebuild herself.” — Includes reporting by CHOW HOW BAN from Shanghai.
Men’s singles: Chen Jin (Chn) bt Hsieh Yu-hsing (Tpe) 21-14, 21-5; Boonsak Ponsana (Tha) bt Rajiv Ouseph (Eng) 22-20, 21-13; Sony Dwi Kuncoro (Ina) bt Arvind Bhat (Ind) 21-15, 21-16; Jan O Jorgensen (Den) bt Brice Leverdez (Fra) 21-18, 21-10;
Park Sung-hwan (Kor) bt Wong Choong Hann (Mas) 21-23, 21-18, 21-13; Du Pengyu (Chn) bt Chetan Anand (Ind) 21-19, 21-9; Simon Santoso (Ina) bt Carl Baxter (Eng) 14-21, 21-12, 21-18; Lin Dan (Chn) bt Chen Long (Chn) 21-12, 21-15.
Men’s doubles: Guo Zhengdong-Xu Chen (Chn) bt Yonathan Suryatama Dasuki-Rian Sukmawan (Ina) 21-17, 21-19; Cho Gun-woo-Shin Baek-cheol (Kor) bt Yohan Hadikusumo Wiratama-Wong Wai Hong (Hkg) 21-14, 21-19; Fang Chieh-min-Lee Sheng-mu (Tpe) bt Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan (Ina) 21-19, 11-21, 21-15; Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen (Den) bt Hui Wai Ho-Albertus Susanto Nyoto (Hkg) 21-10, 21-14;
Lars Paaske-Jonas Rasmussen (Den) bt A. Songphon-Sudket Prapakamol (Tha) 24-22, 21-10; Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong (Mas) bt Henriksen Kasper Faust-Anders Kristiansen (Den) 21-15, 21-18; Jung Jae-sung-Lee Yong-dae (Kor) bt Sun Junjie-Tao Jiaming (Chn) 22-20, 21-13; Chen Hong-ling-Lin Yu-lang (Tpe) bt Bona Septano-Mohd Ahsan (Ina) 21-15, 21-18.
* Matches in other events involving Malaysians
Women’s singles: Wong Mew Choo (Mas) bt Wang Yihan (Chn) 21-18, 21-17.
Women’s doubles: Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty (Mas) bt Cheng Wen-shing-Tsai Pei-ling (Tpe) 21-13, 19-21, 21-14.
Mixed doubles: Zhang Nan-Zhao Yunlei (Chn) bt Koo Kien Keat-Wong Pei Tty 21-16, 21-15.
Posted by Lucas Liau
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