Peng Soon-Khim Wah claim the scalps of Fairuzizuan-Zakry in Terengganu
News 9:36 AM
PETALING JAYA: SEA Games-bound Chan Peng Soon-Lim Khim Wah showed that they are destined to be together when they continued their giant-killing acts by dumping second seeds Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif to reach the men’s doubles semi-finals of the Terengganu Open yesterday.
The back-up pair fought hard for 50 minutes to take down Fairuzizuan-Zakry 21-15, 22-24, 21-16 in the quarter-finals.
It was their third big win over established Malaysian pairs this year. The duo defeated veterans Chan Chong Ming-Chew Choon Eng and Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah en route to winning the Thailand Open in July.
Peng Soon-Khim Wah will be out to keep their momentum going today when they take on Chong Ming-Choon Eng for a place in the final.
Said a delighted Khim Wah: “This is an important win for us. We have never beaten Fairuzizuan-Zakry in three previous meetings.
“The match tomorrow will not be easy but we will try to be consistent with our performances.”
However, coach Pang Cheh Chang said that there was no reason for Peng Soon-Khim Wah to feel over the moon over their victory yesterday. “They (Peng Soon-Khim Wah) did well to win but the two pairs know each others’ game all so well.
“I hope that they will show the same enthusiasm in international tournaments and achieve good results. That is what matters to me,” he said.
Cheh Chang has thrown a challenge to Peng Soon-Khim Wan to reach the semi-finals of the Vietnam Open next week to cement their partnership.
The other men’s doubles semi-final is between Tan Fook-Wan Wah and the back-up squad’s Vountus Indra Mawan-Goh Wei Shem.
In the mixed doubles, Peng Soon, in his partnership with Goh Liu Ying, suffered the disappointment of elimination by the scratch pair of Mak Hee Chun-Ng Hui Lin. They lost the quarter-final match 20-22, 19-22.
The defeat is a setback to Peng Soon, who is expected to make a mark with Liu Ying in their debut at the Laos SEA Games.
Men’s singles top seed Mohd Hafiz Hashim overcame a scare in the first game to beat Kuan Kam Chung 22-20, 21-8 yesterday.
Hafiz will take on Mohd Arif Abdul Latif for a place in the final. The other semi-final will see a younger player attempting to pull the rug from under a senior shuttler with Liew Daren taking on second seed Kuan Beng Hong.
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 9:36 AM.
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