LIEW Daren is through to the quarter-finals of the Indonesian Masters in Palembang after pulling off the biggest upset in the men’s singles third round last night.
The 27-year-old, who was left out of the Asian Games squad due to his poor performance this year, defeated top seed Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka of Indonesia 22-20, 21-14 in just 39 minutes.
The ninth seeded Malaysian will play India’s B. Sai Praneeth today.
Men’s doubles Chooi Kah Ming-Teo Kok Siang are also through to the next round after a 21-17, 21-16 win over Russia’s Nikita Khakimov-Vasily Kuznetsov.
Newly formed mixed doubles Ong Jian Guo-Lee Meng Yean checked into the quarter-finals following a solid performance in the second round.
Jian Guo-Meng Yean, who have only been playing for less than six months, upset third seeds Irfan Fadhilah-Weni Anggraini of Indonesia 21-11, 21-16.
“We did not think much, and it was great because we played with no pressure at all.
“Everything was in our favour, and I’m glad that all our hard training has paid off.
“We are up against another Indonesian pair tomorrow but I’m confident that we will make it to the semi-finals if we could play the way we did,” said Jian Guo, when contacted in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Malaysian junior shuttler Cheam June Wei stormed into the quarter-finals of the Malaysia International Under-19 Championships in Kota Kinabalu. June Wei lived up to his billing as the top seed with an easy 11-4, 11-7, 11-5 win over compatriot Soh Wooi Yik. The Penang-born is up against seventh seed Lee Sun Ju of South Korea today.
Second seed R. Satheishtharan is also through to the next round after dispatching Taiwan’s Chang En-Chia 11-3, 11-10, 11-10. He will play fellow Malaysian Chin Wai Kin next.
Malaysia’s Desiree Siow continued her fairy tale run by defeating Eng Sin Jou 11-10, 5-11, 11-5, 11-9 in the women’s singles third round.
Desiree, who sent top seed Lee Ying Ying packing in the second round on Wednesday, will play seventh seed Kim Ga Eun of South Korea today.
Yap Yee and Ho Yen Mei are the other Malaysian women’s singles who are through to the quarter-finals - BH online