Kuala Lumpur: The 2021 men’s singles World Champion – Loh Kean Yew of Singapore made a strong statement of substance and style on Thursday when he trashed World No. 12 Zhao Jun Peng of China 21-15, 21-8 to advance to the 2023 Malaysia Open quarter-finals.
Highlights of Loh Kean Yew vs. Zhao Jun Peng in the 2023 Malaysia Open second round:
This was Loh’s second consecutive victory against players from China as he also outlasted World No. 20 Li Shi Feng 21-19, 23-21 in the first round.
“I was just focusing on myself, and was just playing my best,” said Loh after the match.
“The drift today was different from the first round. It’s harder to control the shuttlecock in the first round,” added Loh.
Loh will play Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand on Friday.
In another men’s singles second-round match, World No. 4 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting eliminated World No. 30 Anders Antonsen 21-14, 17-21, 21-17. Ginting will play World No. 26 Kanta Tsuneyama of Japan in the quarter-finals.
Highlights of Anthony Sinisuka Ginting vs. Anders Antonsen in the 2023 Malaysia Open second round:
Meanwhile, World No. 7 Kodai Naraoka of Japan continued to impress after defeating the second consecutive Malaysian player in two days. Naraoka beat Ng Tze Yong 15-21, 21-19, 21-15 to play HS Prannoy of India next.
After the match, the 22-year-old Ng said he needed to play in higher-level tournaments to boost his performance.
“When I was leading 19-15 in the second set, it was indeed Kodai who was playing well and did not make any simple mistake. This was a lesson learned for me,” said Ng.
“I think it is necessary to play in many tournaments to gain more experience. This is my first year playing in a major tournament like this compared to Naraoka who has been playing at this level for a few years,” added Ng.
“Of course, I need more experience to improve my game and boost my world ranking,” continued Ng.
Ng was the second Malaysian player to become a ‘victim’ of Naraoka at the 2023 Malaysian Open after the Japanese shocked World No. 2 Lee Zii Jia 21-13, 17-21, 19-21 in the first round.
