Badminton: Sweet revenge for Wan Wah-Tan Fook

PETALING JAYA: Seasoned doubles campaigners Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah avenged last week’s World Championships first round defeat to Howard Bach-Tony Gunawan in style by beating the Americans in straight games to enter the quarter-finals of the Macau Open last night.

Wan Wah-Tan Fook, who lost to the 2005 world champions in rubber games last week, turned the tables this time for a 21-15, 21-17 win in just 21 minutes.

The second seeded Malaysians will face South Koreans Hwang Ji-man-Kim Ki-jung, who ousted Indone­sian siblings and sixth seeds Candra Wijaya-Rendra Wijaya 24-22, 15-21, 21-11.

Wan Wah said they had done their homework well after they were humbled by the American top pair, who went on to reach the quarter-finals in Hyderabad.

“We knew we could be facing them in the Macau Open this week and we studied their game on the video.”

It was a good day for the Malaysians as Chan Chong Ming-Chew Choon Eng and top seeds Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong also advanced.

Chong Ming-Choon Eng defeated Germany’s Michael Fuchs-Ingo Kindervater 21-15, 21-18 while Kien Keat-Boon Heong, the World Cham­pionships bronze medallists, trounced fellow Malaysians Mak Hee Chun-Tan Wee Kiong 21-9, 21-18.

Chong Ming-Choon Eng and Kien Keat-Boon Heong will bid to make it an all-Malaysian semi-final line-up when they meet Chinese pairs Chai Biao-Zhang Nan and Liu Xiaolong-Qiu Zihan tonight.

In the men’s singles, world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei and Wong Choong Hann marched into the last eight with relative ease but it was the end of the road for Chan Kwong Beng and Mohd Hafiz Hashim.

Chong Wei, who suffered a quarter-finals exit in Hyderabad, took just 29 minutes to beat Gao Huan of China 21-9, 21-7 while Choong Hann chalked up a 21-13, 21-9 win over Hsueh Hsuan-yi of Taiwan.

Chong Wei and Choong Hann have Indian hurdles waiting in the last eight – Chetan Anand and Arvind Bhat – respectively.

Back-up shuttler Kwong Beng’s gallant run ended when he went down fighting 15-21, 21-13, 15-21 to Taiwan’s sixth seed Hsieh Yu-shing while Hafiz lost 19-21, 21-23 to Hong Kong’s Hu Yun.

Malaysian women’s singles player Wong Mew Choo’s campaign ended with a 19-21, 12-21 loss to Wang Chen of Hong Kong.

Mixed doubles pair Mohd Razif Abdul Latif-Woon Khe Wei are the only Malaysians in the quarter-finals after beating Chinese qualifiers Zhang Nan-Xie Jing 15-21, 21-19, 21-14.

(Matches involving Malaysians only)

Men’s singles third round: Lee Chong Wei bt Gao Huan (Chn) 21-9, 21-7; Hsieh Yu-shing (Tpe) bt Chan Kwong Beng 21-15, 13-21, 21-15; Hu Yun (Hkg) bt Mohd Hafiz Hashim 21-19, 23-21; Wong Choong Hann bt Hsueh Hsuan-yi (Tpe) 21-13, 21-9.

Women’s singles second round: Wang Chen (Hkg) bt Wong Mew Choo 21-19, 21-12.

Men’s doubles second round: Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong bt Mak Hee Chun-Tan Wee Kiong 21-9, 21-18; Chan Chong Ming-Chew Choon Eng bt Michael Fuchs-Ingo Kindervater (Ger) 21-15, 21-18; Lee Wan Wah-Choong Tan Fook bt Howard Bach-Tony Gunawan (US) 21-15, 21-17.

Mixed doubles second round: Mohd Razif Abdul Latif-Woon Khe Wei bt Zhang Nan-Xie Jing (Chn) 15-21, 21-19, 21-14; Ko Sung-hyu-Yoo Hyun-young (Kor) bt Ong Jian Guo-Chong Sook Chin 21-12, 18-21, 21-11.

Posted by Lucas Liau on 4:48 PM. Filed under News . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0