Taiwan’s Lee, Yang defeat defending champions in badminton tourney

Taipei-Taiwan's Lee Yang (??) and Yang Ching Tun (???) defeated defending mixed doubles champions Alfian Eko Prasetya and Marsheilla Gischa Islami of Indonesia Tuesday on the first day of the Yonex Chinese Taipei Open 2019.

Lee and Yang, ranked 45th in the world, defeated the mixed doubles champions 21-19, 20-22, 21-19 in a match that lasted 52 minutes to progress into the round of the top 16. Presetya and Islami are ranked 29th in the world.

In the first set, Lee and Yang scored two consecutive points to break a tie at 19-19 to win the set 21-19.

The Taiwanese put up a fierce fight in the second set and managed at one time to score six consecutive points. However, they were overcome by Prasetya and Islami and lost the second set 20-22.

In the deciding third set, the Taiwanese regrouped and again scored two consecutive points with the score tied at 19-19 to win 21-19.

"After all, they were last year's champions and they also have a higher ranking than us. We tried not to think too much and just went out there to play the best we could," Lee said.

Lee also credited the win to a home court advantage.

Lee and Yang will next face the winners between Taiwan's Lin Chia-yu (???) and Wang Yu-qiao (???) and Indonesia's Tontowi Ahmad and Winny Oktavina Kandow on Wednesday.

Taiwan's mixed doubles pair Wang Chi-Lin (???) and Cheng Chi Ya (???) took a drubbing at the hands of their Malaysian counterparts, top-seeded Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying in the first round.

Ranked No. 36 in the world for mixed doubles, Wang and Cheng lost to world No. 5's Chan and Goh 21-17, 11-21, 11-21 in a match that lasted 50 minutes.

In the first set, the Taiwanese managed to put pressure on the Malaysians by turning the tables when the score reached 13-14. Wang and Cheng held their ground to fire back and won the set 21-17.

However in the second set, Chan and Goh were able to find their rhythm and pin down the Taiwanese duo for the remainder of the match. Wang and Cheng lost the second and third sets 11-21.

The Yonex Chinese Taipei Open 2019, held Sept. 3-8 at the Taipei Arena carries a total purse of US$500,000.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel