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- Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei jumps for a smash in the men’s singles match.
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- Malaysia’s Goh Jin Wei plays a shot in the women’s singles.
KUCHING: The top seeds in the men’s singles and women’s singles sailed through the first round of the Malaysian Open at the Sarawak Indoor Stadium in Petra Jaya yesterday.
Eleven-time champion and top seed Lee Chong Wei led the way by charging into the second round with a comfortable 21-16, 21-18 win over England’s Rajiv Ouseph.
China’s Chen Long followed suit trouncing Hong Kong’s Wei Nan 21-4, 21-9. Compatriot Lin Dan was stretched to three sets before beating India’s Sai Praneeth B 18-21, 21-19, 21-18.
Veteran Malaysian challenger Liew Daren fell victim 12-21, 13-21 to fourth seed Viktor Axelson from Denmark. After the match, Daren said he was too tired after playing two qualifying matches on Tuesday and could not match the tempo of the play against the Dane yesterday.
No. 5 seed South Korea’s Son Wan Ho is also safely through to the next round after beating qualifier from Japan Takuma Ueda 21-12, 21-9.
In the women’s singles competition, top seed Tai Tzu Ying from Chinese Taipei disposed off qualifier Lyanny Alessandra Mainaky of Indonesia 21-12, 21-10.
Spain’s Carolina Marin, the second seed, also eased to a 21-16, 21-11 victory over Hong Kong’s Yip Pui Yin. The third seed Sung Ji Hyun of South Korea beat Minatsu Mitani 21-18, 21-15. She will be joined by fourth seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan.
India’s Pusarla V Sindhu was the only seeded singles casualty of the day when the sixth seed was dumped by Chen Yufei of China 18-21, 21-16, 21-16.
Goh Jin Wei is the only Malaysian women’s singles player who advanced to the next round.