Malaysia enjoyed a strong day at the Korea Masters on Thursday, with seven representatives advancing to the quarter-finals across men's singles, men's doubles and mixed doubles in Asan.
The mixed doubles event produced a perfect result for the Malaysian contingent, with all three pairs progressing. Chen Tang Jie and Clarissa San delivered the biggest upset, defeating fourth seeds Wu Hsuan Yi and Yang Chu Yun of Taiwan 21-12, 13-21, 21-11.
The result marked another encouraging step for Tang Jie, who is partnering Clarissa while Toh Ee Wei continues her recovery from injury. The Malaysian pair will next face Japan's Haruki Kawabe and Kokona Ishikawa.
Fifth seeds Jimmy Wong and Cheng Su Yin also booked their place in the last eight after surviving a tight battle against South Korea's Kim Joon Young and Lee Yu Lim. The Malaysians recovered from losing the opening game to win 13-21, 21-15, 25-23 after 62 minutes. They now face South Korea's second seeds Kim Jae Hyeon and Jang Ha Jeong.
Completing Malaysia's mixed doubles success were Loo Bing Kun and Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan, who defeated Australia's Andika Ramadiansyah and Nozomi Shimizu 21-15, 22-20. Their quarter-final opponent will be China's third seeds Gao Jia Xuan and Wu Meng Ying.
Malaysia also made a strong impact in men's doubles, with three pairs reaching the quarter-finals. Tee Kai Wun and Yap Roy King defeated South Korea's Jin Yong and Lee Jong Min 21-15, 21-13 to set up an all-Malaysian clash with Aaron Chia and Aaron Tai.
Source: Head Topics
Aaron and Tai continued their good form after finishing runners-up at last week's Taiwan Open, beating South Korea's Choi Sol Gyu and Goh V Shem 21-14, 21-13. Their quarter-final meeting with Tee and Yap guarantees Malaysia a place in the semi-finals.
Man Wei Chong and Soh Wooi Yik also advanced after beating Singapore's Nge Joo Jie and Donovan Wee 21-18, 21-14. They will take on India's G. Krishna Prasad and K. R. Pruthvi for a place in the last four.
It was a tougher day for Low Hang Yee and Ng Eng Cheong, who bowed out after losing to Taiwan's third seeds He Zhi Wei and Huang Jui Hsuan 21-16, 17-21, 21-13.
In men's singles, Cheam June Wei continued his impressive run by defeating China's Dong Tian Yao 21-10, 21-13. The world No. 72 had already caused an upset in the opening round by beating Singapore's second seed Teh Jia Heng, and his latest victory puts him into a Super 300 quarter-final or higher for the first time since the Orleans Masters in March 2024.
June Wei will next meet Taiwan's seventh seed Su Li Yang, who denied the possibility of an all-Malaysian quarter-final by coming from behind to beat world No. 75 Eogene Ewe 13-21, 21-19, 21-13.
With seven Malaysians still in contention, the national contingent will now look to turn its strong quarter-final presence into more semi-final berths at the Korea Masters.
