Fuzhou: Malaysia’s Soniia Cheah stunned Japan’s second seed Akane Yamaguchi in the first round of the China Open in Fuzhou on Wednesday to set up the second round meeting with last week’s Macau Open champion, Michelle Li of Canada in the second round.
Cheah needed only 37 minutes to beat Yamaguchi 21-19, 21-16.
“It’s not easy to beat World’s top 10 player, but I did it,” said Cheah.
“This was certainly a good start for me at the tournament and it definitely a confident booster prior to my next game,” added Cheah.
Malaysia’s two mixed doubles pairs, Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying and Goh Soon Huat/Shevon Jemie Lai also advanced to the second round.
Chan/Goh beat French pair Thom Gicquel/Delphine Delrue 21-19, 21-19 to face Robin Tabeling/Selena Piek of Netherlands on Thursday, while Goh/Lai outlasted eighth-seeded England’s Marcus Ellis/Lauren Smith 21-18, 21-19 and will take on Rinov Rivaldy/Pitha Haningtyas Mentari of Indonesia next.
In men’s doubles competition, Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik overcame Attri Manu/Reddy B. Sumeeth 23-21, 21-19 in the opener and will meet No. 5 seeds Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto of Indonesia in the second round.
