Taipei Open: Malaysian duo stun Olympic champions

New Delhi, July 24; World No.36 pair Man Wei Chong and Tee Kai Wun created a sensation in the last match of the YONEX Taipei Open 2022, beating Olympic champions Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin in a closely-contested final. The Malaysians, winners of the Syed Modi International in January, achieved their career’s biggest triumph as they held off the home favourites 21-18 11-21 21-18, denying Lee/Wang their first title since Tokyo 2020. The other significant achievement on the day was Ng Tsz Yau’s double. Hong Kong China’s Ng and Lee Chun Hei Reginald enjoyed a quick win in the first match of the day, needing just 30 minutes to overcome Ruttanapak Oupthong/Chasinee Korepap of Thailand, 21-8 21-9. Ng returned for her women’s doubles final with Tsang Hiu Yan, and the sixth seeds edged Japan’s Rui Hirokami/Yuna Kato in an exciting finish, 21-15 18-21 21-19. Until Lee/Wang’s upset in the final match, finals day had gone perfectly for home players, with singles stars Chou Tien Chen and Tai Tzu Ying cruising to their fourth title wins at the Taipei Open. Chou had an early setback in the final against Kodai Naraoka, with the Japanese taking the opening game, but then the top seed exerted his dominance, winning the next two games comfortably: 14-21 21-10 21-6. Tai was mostly untroubled by seventh seed Saena Kawakami, completing the title win 21-17 21-16 in 37 minutes for her third title of the season.