BIRMINGHAM, Aug 6 — National top men’s singles shuttler Ng Tze Yong is on a roll!
The 22-year-old pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games when he ousted reigning world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in the quarter-finals here today.
Tze Yong staged a magnificent fightback after losing the first game to beat Kean Yew 15-21, 21-14, 21-11 and book his place in the last four at the National Exhibition Centre Hall 5.
Up next for the world number 42 is a rematch with India’s Kidambi Srikanth tomorrow.
Tze Yong had defeated Srikanth 21-19, 6-21, 21-16 en route to helping Malaysia bag the mixed team gold medal on Tuesday (Aug 2).
Srikanth made the last four after ousting home favourite Toby Penty 21-19, 21-17 in the other quarter-final.
Meanwhile, it was the end of the road for professional women’s singles ace Goh Jin Wei as she succumbed 19-21, 21-14, 21-18 to 2019 world champion Pusarla V. Sindhu of India.
This is the second time in four days that Jin Wei has gone down to the Indian shuttler, having also lost their second match of the mixed team final on Tuesday 20-22, 17-21.
In the meantime, Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games bronze medallist Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik had no problems downing Uganda’s Brian Kasirye-Daniel Wanagaliya 21-6, 21-12 to set up a semi-final date with the winners of the quarter-final tie between England’s Ben Lane-Sean Vendy and Australia’s Pham Tran Hoang-Jack Yu.
Malaysia then endured mixed fortunes in the mixed doubles, with professional pair Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing beating England’s Callum Hemming-Jessica Pugh 22-20, 21-11; and national pair Chan Peng Soon-Cheah Yee See going down 15-21, 19-21 to Scotland’s Adam Hall-Julie Macpherson.
However, Peng Soon can heave a huge sigh of relief when his partnership with Kian Meng in men’s doubles worked to perfection when they disposed of Sri Lanka’s Sachin Dias-Buwaneka Goonethilleka 21-16, 21-12 to reach the semi-finals.
Peng Soon-Kian Meng will face Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty after India’s top pair trounced Australians Jacob Schueler-Nathan Tang 21-9, 21-11 in the other quarter-final.
