MALAYSIA OPEN 2013 R16 – All fired up!!

The heat is building up on the 3^rd day of the Maybank Malaysia Open 2013.  Players who cleared Round 1 are warmed up to contest for the title. However, for some, the “Malaysian Fever” proved to be a challenge as a few players have fallen ill.

By Adrian Kok, Badzine Correspondent live in Kuala Lumpur. Photos: Yves Lacroix for Badmintonphoto (live)

Men’s doubles –  New pairs on fire

The newly forged pair of Lee Yong Dae and Ko Sung Hyun (photo) breeze through their second round match.  Patiphat Chalardchaleam and Nipitphon Puangpuapech were struggling in all areas of their game. The young Thais were not able to keep up to the speed of the Koreans. Though the score line heavily favoured the Koreans, it wasn’t without a challenge.

“It was not a good start as were adjusting to the strong drift in the first game.  Once we got our rhythm we did not stop attacking. We are focusing on getting our rankings up the table. This is our goal for the year,” Lee Yong Dae said.

Another pair on fire is Hiroyuki Endo and Kenichi Hayakawa. They defeated the English pair of Chris Langridge and Peter Mills (photo) in straight games. The Japanese pair’s relentless attacks and swift drives proved to be a challenge for the English pair to defend.  On top of that, the Japanese kept the shuttle low and did not lift.  As a result, the English pair did have much opportunity for an attacking game.

Local top aces Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong conceded a walkover to fellow comrades as Tan is down with a fever.

Men’s singles – Drifts and walkovers

Japanese veteran Sho Sasaki (photo) had to dig deep in his reserves to triumph over Englishmen Rajiv Ouseph.  Sho committed too many errors at back of the court with the help of the strong drift in the stadium. Nevertheless, the Japanese fought gallantly in the second and final game.

“It was a sluggish start for me as I was trying to adjust to the drift at the same time getting my body to be fired up,” said Sho. “My opponent capitalized on that in the first game and won it. But in the second game I was able to regain my focus along with an attacking rhythm.”

Suppanyu Avihingsanon, who defeated Wang Zhengming yesterday, lost to Hans-Kristian Vittinghus. The Dane is well known to have strong will character and returned most of the Thai’s smashes. The cross-court defense from the Dane had Suppanyu running all around the court. Soon the Thai ran out of stamina and lost in straight games.

Two local aces, Lee Chong Wei (photo) and Liew Daren, were handed walkovers by their opponents. Boonsak Ponsana, who was supposed to play against Lee was also down with a fever. “I had prepared myself to compete with Boonsak today but it was unfortunate that he fell sick. Perhaps the BWF should consider having a bigger gap between tournaments to allow player to recover,” said Lee Chong Wei. On top of that, Taufik Hidayat too conceded his match to Liew.

Click here for complete Day 3 results