All eyes of the hosts supporters were on Goh Jin Wei, but it was Letshanaa Karupathevan, who sprung a major upset at the Malaysian Masters badminton championships in Kuala Lumpur.
Jin Wei had scored an upset win over fourth seed Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the first round on Thursday and she was expected to qualify for the quarter-finals of the women’s singles competition. However, Jin Wei succumbed to a 13-21, 16-21 defeat to India’s Ashmita Chaliha.
It was a huge disappointment for the partisan Malaysian crowd at the Axiata Arena. Instead it was Letshanaa, who stepped up to qualify for the quarter-finals.
The world number 38 picked up a stunning 21-15, 21-17 win over third seeded Tomoka Miyazaki. It was Letshanaa’s first win over a current top 10 ranked player.
World number seven Miyazaki had beaten Letshanaa with relative comfort in both their earlier contests, but the Malaysian lass took control of the match this time with her attacking game, forcing Miyazaki on the defensive and making numerous errors.
“I think it’s another good breakthrough for me.. Earlier this year I reached my first Super 500 semifinal in Indonesia, and now I’ve reached the quarterfinals at home. So this definitely gives me confidence and shows that I’m improving and moving in the right direction,” said Letshanaa.
“I think she was under pressure as well, but the consistency and confidence I had today probably put even more pressure on her, That made things difficult for her. But I still feel she played her own game. There was pressure on my side too because I was playing at home and wanted to give my best. But at the same time, I was the underdog, so my goal was simply to fight hard and give my best on court. That helped me overcome the situation.”
The difference, she said, was in her more attacking play which she had been working on.
“It’s not something that changed recently. We have been working on it throughout the journey and now we are finally seeing some improvement in my game — physically, tactically and most importantly mentally. All these things are coming together now and giving positive results.”
Letshanaa will take on Japan’s Hina Akechi in the semi-finals.
Seventh seeded Nguyen Thuy Linh of Vietnam succumbed to a 18-21, 10-21 defeat to Thailand’s Pitchamon Opatniputh.
There were also a number of other upset victories across the board.
In the men’s singles, Alex Lanier, who was instrumental in the French side’s runners-up finish at the recent Thomas Cup, was beaten 21-15, 16-21, 15-21 by unseeded Hu Zhean. It was only the pairs second career meeting. Zhean had also beaten Alex, seeded seventh here, at the World Junior Championships three years ago.
The French will still have two representatives in the men’s singles quarter-finals with siblings Christo Popov and Toma Junior Popov getting past their respective rivals.
Japan’s Kodai Naraoka, the sixth seed, was beaten 7-21, 19-21 by China’s Lu Guangzu in their match-up.
In the all-Japanese women’s doubles clash, Sayaka Hirota-Ayako Sakuramoto upstaged their fifth ranked teammates Arisa Igarashi-Chiharu Shida 21-13, 19-21, 21-14.
Malaysia’s sixth seeded mixed doubles pair of Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie was also shown the exit in the second round. They were beaten 19-21, 21-7, 19-21 by the Taiwanese duo of Wu Guan Xun-Lee Chai Hsin.
Also out of the running were the Chinese pairing Chen Xing-Zhang Chi. The seventh seeds crashed to a 9-21,17-21 at the hands of Hong Kong’s Chan Yin Chak-Ng Tsz Yau.
SECOND ROUND RESULTS
Men’s Singles: Jonatan Christie (Ina) bt Wang Po Wei (Tpe) 21-19, 19-21, 21-13; Hu Zhean (Chn) bt Alex Lanier (Fra) 15-21, 21-16, 21-15; Toma Junior Popov (Fra) bt Zhu Xuanchen (Chn) 23-21, 14-21, 21-11; Li Shifeng (Chn) bt Yudai Okimoto (Jpn) 21-14, 21-9; Christo Popov (Fra) bt Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (Ina) 21-17, 21-14; Lu Guangzu (Chn) bt Kodai Naraoka (Jpn) 21-7, 21-19; Moh. Zaki Ubaidillah (Ina) bt Jeon Hyek-jin (Kor) 21-10, 16-21, 21-16; Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul (Tha) bt Wang Tzu Wei (Tpe) 17-21, 21-17, 21-12
Men’s Doubles: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (Mas) bt Julien Maio-William Villeger (Fra) 21-12, 21-10; Daniel Lundgaard-Mads Vestergaard (Den) bt Huang Di-Liu Yang (Chn) 21-15, 18-21, 21-16; Kakeru Kumagai-Hiroki Noshi (Jpn) bt Chen Zhi Ray-Liu Yu Chieh (Tpe) 21-13, 21-10; Chen Zhi Yi-Presley Smith (USA) bt Aziryn Nur Mohd Aziryn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong (Mas) 21-14, 21-18; Junaidi Arif-Yap Roy King (Mas) bt Kang Khai Xing-Aaron Tai (Mas) 21-12, 22-20; Hu Keyuan-Lin Xiangyi (Chn) bt Hariharan Amsakarunan-M.R. Arjun (Ind) 21-14, 21-15; Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi (Jpn) bt Xie Haonan-Zeng Weihan (Chn) 21-15, 21-18; Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin (Mas) bt Chia Weijie-Teo Ee Yi (Mas) 21-14, 21-12
Women’s Singles: Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt (Den) bt Malvika Banson (Ind) 16-21, 21-8, 21-15; Letshanaa Karupathevan (Mas) bt Tomoka Miyazaki (Jpn) 21-15, 21-17; Pitchamon Opatniputh (Tha) bt Nguyen Thuy Linh (Vie) 21-18, 21-10; Ashmita Chaliha (Ind) bt Goh Jin Wei (Mas) 21-13, 21-16; Chen Yufei (Chn) bt Devika Sihag (Ind) 21-16, 21-13; Line Christophersen (Den) bt Huang Ching Ping (Tpe) 21-13, 21-12; Hina Akechi (Jpn) bt Han Qianxi (Chn) 21-16, 21-17; Ratchanok Intanon (Tha) bt Kaloyana Nalbantova (Bul) 21-15, 21-11
Women’s Doubles: Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi (Jpn) bt Fan Ka Yan-Yau Mau Ying (Hkg) 21-14, 21-9; Bao Lijing-Cao Zihan (Chn) bt Hathathip Mijad-Napapakorn Tungkasatan (Tha) 21-19, 15-21, 21-10; Ornnicha Jongsathapornparn-Sabrina Sophita Wedler (Tha) bt Francesca Corbett-Jennie Gai (USA) 21-16, 11-21,25-23; Lauren Lam-Allison Quynh Lee (USA) bt Jackie Dent-Crystal Lai (Can) 21-8, 21-8; Chen Fan Shutian-Luo Xumin (Chn) bt Lanny Tria Mayasari-Apriyani Rahayu (Ina) 21-10, 15-21, 21-17; Yan Fei Chen-Liang Ching Sun (Tpe) bt Yi En Hsieh-Teng Chun Hsun (Tpe) 21-17, 16-21, 21-16; Sayaka Hirota-Ayako Sakuramoto (Jpn) tb Arisa Igarashi-Chiharu Shida (Jpn) 21-13, 19-21, 21-14; Luo Yi-Wang Tingge (Chn) bt Lin Chih-Chun-Yang Chu Yun (Tpe) 21-12, 23-21
Mixed Doubles: Wu Guan Xun-Lee Chia Hsin (Tpe) bt Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie (Mas) 21-19, 7-21, 21-19; Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei (Mas) bt Amri Syahnawi-Nita Violina Marwah (Ina) 21-19, 22-20; Chan Yin Chak-Ng Tsz Yau (Hkg) bt Chen Xing-Zhang Chi (Chn) 21-9, 21-17; Presley Smith-Jennie Gai (USA) bt Sathwik Reddy Kanapuram-Radhika Sharma (Ind) 21-12, 27-25; Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Boje (Den) bt Adnan Maulana-Indah Cahya Sari Jamil (Ina) 13-21, 21-10, 21-13; Pakkapon Teeraratsakul-Sapsiree Taerattanachao (Tha) bt Bobby Setiabudi-Melati Daeva Oktavianto (Ina) 18-21, 21-18, 21-16; Supak Jomkoh-Ornnicha Jongsathapornparn (Tha) bt Gao Jiaxuan-Wei Yaxin (Chn) 21-13, 21-13; Guo Xinwa-Chen Fanghui (Chn) bt Zhu Yijun-Li Qian (Chn) 21-17, 21-20
