Malaysia’s newly formed men’s doubles partnership of Chia Wei Jie and Teo Ee Yi made an impressive start to their campaign together after pulling off a major upset in the opening round of the Thailand Open on Tuesday.
Competing together for only the second time, the pair fought back strongly to defeat Indonesia’s eighth seeds Muhammad Rian Ardianto and Rahmat Hidayat 20-22, 21-19, 21-11 at Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok.
The victory marked a promising breakthrough for the new partnership, with both players showing strong chemistry despite only recently joining forces.
Ee Yi brings valuable experience to the pairing after previously winning a bronze medal at the 2021 World Championships with former partner Ong Yew Sin. Wei Jie, meanwhile, continues to build on his rise after capturing the Guwahati Masters title last year alongside Lwi Sheng Hao.
The Malaysians will next face Scotland brothers Christopher Grimley and Matthew Grimley for a place in the quarter-finals.
Another newly combined Malaysian pair, Bryan Jeremy Goonting and Haikal Nazri, also enjoyed a successful start after defeating Hong Kong’s Hung Kuei Chun and Lui Chun Wai 22-20, 21-13.
The pair now face a difficult second-round match against India’s top seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.
Elsewhere, Malaysia’s experienced duo Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub and Tan Wee Kiong progressed comfortably after beating Scotland’s Alexander Dunn and Adam Pringle 21-11, 21-15.
However, it was a tougher day in the women’s doubles competition.
Malaysia’s Ong Xin Yee and Carmen Ting were eliminated after losing to Indonesia’s Siyana Syahira Meida and Rinjani Kwinara Nastine.
Another Malaysian pair, Chong Jie Yu and Vanessa Ng, also exited the tournament following a straight-games defeat to Japan’s Hinata Suzuki and Nao Yamakita.
