Macau: Former World No. 2 Kento Momota was going all-out attack at Macau Open as the Japanese bid to claim his fourth international titles since his return to international badminton after his gambling was lifted in May.
On Tuesday, Momota survived a surprise test in the first round of Macau Open, as he had to dig deep to beat Krishna Adi Nugraha of Indonesia 21-9, 14-21, 21-15 in 54 minutes. He is set to take on No. 13 seed Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong on Wednesday. Momota held a 2-0 head-to-head career meeting record against Lee, and his last triumph against Lee was at the 2017 Belgian International on September 16th.
In other men’s singles matches, Malaysia’s No. 7 seed Chong Wei Feng eased past former Malaysian – Lee Hock Lai who is now playing for United States 21-12, 21-14 in first round of the Macau Open.
The No. 11 seed Daren Liew also claimed his first round victory with a 21-19, 21-11 win over Mek Narongrit of Thailand.
Chong Wei Feng will meet Panji Ahmad Maulana of Indonesia next while Liew will face Koki Watanabe of Japan next.
Men’s singles No. 10 seed and former World Junior champion Zulfadli Zulkiffli also made the second round. He outlasted compatriot Vincent Phuah Cheng Wei 21-15, 21-15 to set up a second round encounter with Wong Hin Shun of England in the second round.
