Justin loses in Macau Open but 4 Malaysians stay alive in singles

Unheralded Malaysian singles players (from left) Huan Kai Hern, Cheam June Wei and Eogene Ewe won their opening matches to advance to the last-16 stage.

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia suffered another blow following Lee Zii Jia’s exit from the Macau Open after national men’s singles player Justin Hoh was defeated in the opening round today.

The world No 42 lost to 66th ranked Thai player Kantaphon Wangcharoen 9-21, 18-21 in 37 minutes.

Earlier, Indonesian player Shujiwo Prahdiska Bagas knocked out Zii Jia in his opening match.

However, three Malaysian singles players made a promising start at the tournament.

Back-up men’s singles shuttlers Huan Kai Hern, Cheam June Wei and Eogene Ewe brought some cheer to the Malaysian camp with hard-fought wins over their opponents.

Particularly impressive was 20-year-old Kai Hern, ranked world No 147, who clawed his way back from a game down to beat Israeli rival Misha Zilberman, ranked 71 slots above him.

Kai Hern won 13-21, 21-11, 21-9 in a match that lasted 56 minutes.

Eogene, ranked world No 80, scored an upset win over 36th ranked Indonesian Jason Gunawan, winning 21-16, 14-21, 21-19 in 69 minutes.

Similarly, June Wei was forced to dig deep into his reserves before defeating much lower-ranked Macau player Pui Pang Fong 14-21, 21-15, 21-11 in 50 minutes.

Women’s singles player Goh Jin Wei booked a last-16 slot after defeating Indonesian opponent Ni Kadek Dhinda Amartya Pratiwi 21-13, 21-16 in 35 minutes.