The Chinese badminton team successfully passed the test on Wednesday and will have three games on Thursday. The men’s singles Zheng Jiaheng will face Thailand’s Pani Chapong; the mixed doubles Xu Yongkai/Gloria will challenge the sixth seed, Indonesian combination Adnan/Jamil; the men’s doubles, Kubo Junsuke/Ko Yongjie will compete with the fifth seed, Indonesian combination Rian/Ramat.
The Singapore badminton team had a double success at the Thailand Badminton Masters (Super 300) on Wednesday (January 28). The men’s singles Zheng Jiaheng and the multinational mixed doubles pair Xu Yongkai/Gloria (Indonesia) both successfully passed the first round and advanced to the top 16.
Xu Yongkai/Gloria are currently ranked 275th in the world. They partnered for the first time in the Indonesia Masters (Super 500) last week and achieved a quarterfinal result. This week they moved to Bangkok, where they faced the 39th-ranked Chinese Taipei pair Wu Guanxun/Li Jiaxin in the first round and won their first meeting.
The game lasted 26 minutes, and the scores were 21-10, 21-13. Xu Yongkai/Gloria’s next opponent was the sixth seed, the Indonesian combination Adnan/Jamil, who reversed the Thai combination Pak Kapo/Sapsiree 15-21, 21-19, 21-17.
As for the secret to victory in the first lap, Xu Yongkai said in an interview with Lianhe Zaobao after the game: “Staying calm and focusing on every point helped us a lot. As for the huge score difference, it may be because our opponent was not in good condition today, haha!”
After his wife Chen Weihan withdrew from the international arena, Xu Yongkai switched to Kim Yuja but did not achieve any more breakthroughs. Later, when Gloria’s original partner Kushal Young suffered a knee injury, he formed a cross-border team with her to participate in the BWF World Tour. It is not yet known how long they will be together.
Further reading
Thailand Badminton Masters begins, Chinese men’s doubles Kubo Junsuke and Gao Yongjie advance to the second round
Indonesia Badminton Masters Luo Jianyou lost to Thailand Pani Chapong and missed the final
Xu Yongkai said: “We have established a tacit understanding through constant communication and communication. For example, what do I need to do to make it easier for her to play on the court, and in turn, what can she do for me. I think this is a very positive start. We go all out in every game and enjoy the feeling of standing on the court together.”
Zheng Jiaheng: I won’t put extra pressure on myself
In the men’s singles competition, the tournament’s third seed Zheng Jiaheng faced off against Hong Kong player Ng Ying-lun, ranked 39th in the world. He won 21-13, 21-10 in 40 minutes and qualified for the second round.
Zheng Jiaheng said: “I think my performance today was pretty good. I stayed focused on every point and didn’t rush to score. Overall, I played very patiently.”
Zheng Jiaheng is also the last champion of this event, but he will not put extra pressure on himself. “As the defending champion, I don’t feel pressure. Every opponent here is very strong. I don’t think about defending the title. I just want to play every game well.”
Zheng Jiaheng’s opponent on Thursday (29th) was Pani Chapong from Thailand. Their only match was the Malaysian Super 100 in 2024, when our country won 2-1.
In addition to the Chinese mixed doubles and men’s singles matches on Thursday, the men’s doubles team of Kubo Junyu/Ko Yongjie will also play. They defeated the Chinese Taipei team of Jiang Jianwei/Wu Xuanyi in straight games on Tuesday (27th). In the next round, they will compete with the fifth seed, Indonesian team Rian/Ramat for qualifications for the semi-finals.
