Eogene Ewe continued his impressive rise after booking his place in Malaysia's Asian Games squad, easing into the second round of the Taiwan Open with a straight-games victory on Tuesday.
The world No. 49 defeated Thailand's Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul 21-13, 21-14 in just 35 minutes to make a confident start to his campaign. The result extended the 20-year-old's encouraging run after being selected for the Asian Games, where he is expected to make his debut for Malaysia.
Eogene now faces a much tougher challenge against third seed Lee Chia Hao of Taiwan, who progressed after beating compatriot Wang Po-Wei in his opening match. The meeting will be a good test of the youngster's progress against one of the tournament's top contenders.
While Eogene celebrated a positive start, it was a disappointing day for fellow Malaysian Cheam June Wei.
Source: The Star
June Wei's campaign ended in the opening round after he fell 21-19, 21-15 to Japan's Koo Takahashi. Despite staying competitive in the first game, the Malaysian was unable to halt Takahashi's momentum as the Japanese player sealed victory in straight games.
The contrasting results continue the differing fortunes of the two Malaysians this season. Eogene has steadily climbed the rankings with a string of consistent performances, earning recognition from the national selectors, while June Wei is still searching for the form needed to regain momentum on the BWF World Tour.
Malaysia will now look to Eogene to carry the nation's hopes in the men's singles draw as he aims to build on his recent breakthrough with another strong performance in Taipei.
