World Tour Finals: Kian Meng-Pei Jing save Malaysian blushes on opening day

Malaysian mixed doubles pair Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing delivered one of their finest performances this year to overcome China’s Yi Lyu-Huang Dong Ping at the World Tour Finals as the rest of the Malaysian pairs all lost their openers.

Tan-Lai turned in a gritty performance to oust the Chinese pair 23-21, 14-21, 21-16 in a 61-minute battle to earn their victory in Bangkok.

The win also meant the Malaysians finally beat the world championships bronze medalists for the first time, having lost to their opponents in seven consecutive occasions dating back to 2017.

Muka ada senyum! ? Akhirnya selepas 8 PERTEMUAN, barulah Tan Kian Meng / Lai Pei Jing menang dengan Wang Yi Lyu / Dong Ping! Goodluck and Dont Give Up ?#badminton #BWF #WorldTourFinals2022 pic.twitter.com/oElf5gHDJv

— ASTRO ARENA (@ASTROARENA) December 7, 2022

“We are thrilled to have won, and finally beat them after so long. It’s a great win, but it is only our first match. We will be focused for tomorrow’s [Thursday] match now,” said the pair.

That win put the Korea Open champions second in Group B, with a meeting against Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerratanachai next.

None of the other pairs could emulate what Tan-Lai achieved on Wednesday.

The women’s doubles saw Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah succumb to a 21-23, 19-21 defeat against Indonesia’s Apriyani Rahayu-Siti Fadia, while Jeong Na-eun-Kim Hye-jeong easily overcame Vivian Hoo-Lim Chiew Sien 21-18, 21-13.

In the men’s doubles, Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi were doing well in the first game against Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi, but let a crucial lead slip towards the end.

That proved the catalyst as they went down 19-21, 16-21 against the world number one pair.

Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Jemie Lai also came up short in their match against Indonesia’s Rinov Rivaldy-Pitha Haningtyas Mentari, losing 21-12, 21-15.

The final match of the day saw Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan avenge their world championships final loss against Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik with a measured, effective performance to win 21-12, 21-15.

All the pairs who lost today face a do-or-die clash in their second match on Thursday.

Hoo-Lim are up against Benyapa-Nuntakarn Aimsaard, Goh-Shevon face French pair Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue, Tan-Thinaah take on China’s world champions Chen Qing Chen-Jia Yi Fan, and Ong-Teo do battle with Chio Sol-gyu-Kim Won-ho.

Chia-Soh also have a tough run-up against Liu Yu Chen-Ou Xuan Yi.