National men’s doubles Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi prefer to remain non-committal in their quest for an Olympic ticket despite chalking up an impressive opening round win in the China Open yesterday.
On a day when national No 1 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik were shown the exit, Yew Sin-Ee Yi rose to the occasion to save the BA of Malaysia (BAM) the blushes by clawing back from a game down to beat the more experienced Kim Gi Jung-Lee Yong Dae of South Korea 20-22, 21-13, 21-13.
Aaron-Wooi Yik were earlier ousted 21-14, 21-17 by Japan’s Hiroyuki Endo-Yuta Watanabe.
“It’s tough for me to comment right now because everyone wants to qualify for the Olympics,” Ee Yi said of their Tokyo Games prospect. “The best pair should represent Malaysia in Tokyo next year.”
Asked if they (Yew Sin-Ee Yi) could be the best pair for Malaysia, Ee Yi replied: “We will try. I don’t want to sound over-confident by saying we will be, but we will try.”
Apart from reaching the final of the Malaysia Masters in January, Yew Sin-Ee Yi have not enjoyed as much success as Aaron-Wooi Yik and 2016 Rio Olympic Games silver medallists Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong, who left BAM at the start of the year.
World No 23 Yew Sin-Ee Yi can improve their chances of qualifying for the Olympics next year if they can get the better of Denmark’s Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen in the second round today.
V Shem-Wee Kiong, who cleared the first round on Tuesday, will play another Danish pair, Mathias Boe-Mads Conrad Petersen, for a place in the quarter-finals.
In mixed doubles, the struggling pair of Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie also cleared the first round with a hard-fought 21-16, 19-21, 21-18 win over Thailand’s Nipitphon Phuangphuapet-Savitree Amitrapai.
The national No 1, who have not hit top form since Soon Huat returned from a series of injuries, are up against eighth seeds Marcus Ellis-Lauren Smith of England next.
Meanwhile, women’s singles Soniia Cheah became the other national shuttler to be sent packing in the first round.
Soniia, who is Malaysia’s best bet for an Olympic spot, was no match for former World No 1 Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan, losing 21-9, 21-16 in just 32 minutes. Fabian Peter