Hong Kong Open: city’s top badminton players in action as tournament returns for first time in 4 years
- Defending champion Lee Cheuk-yiu and Angus Ng Ka-long play their first games in opening rounds of men’s singles
- Top rated mixed doubles pairing Tang Chun-man and Tse Ying-suet will face fellow compatriots Reginald Lee Chun-hei and Ng Tsz-yau
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The city’s top badminton players are in action on Wednesday as the Hong Kong Open returns after a four-year gap.
Top mixed-doubles pair Tang Chun-man and Tse Ying-suet will face fellow compatriots Reginald Lee Chun-hei and Ng Tsz-yau in the first round during the second day of competition at Hong Kong Coliseum.
In the singles, defending champion world No 17 Lee Cheuk-yiu will take on Weng Hongyang of China, while Angus Ng Ka-long will play fifth seed Jonathan Christie of Indonesia.
There were mixed fortunes for the city’s players on Tuesday, with Yeung Nga-ting and Yeung Pui-lam losing in straight sets against fifth seeds Benyapa Aimsaard and Nuntakarn Aimsaard in the first round of the women’s doubles.
The Hong Kong pair are heading to the Asian Games later this month, and while Yueng Pui-lam said they had been improving steadily this year, the 21-year-old admitted to still feeling nervous in front of a cheering crowd.
As the partnership approaches the two-year mark, Yeung Nga-ting, who is the older of the two, said there was work to be done with her service game.
“I need to have more variations because my serves had been too monotonous and always aiming at the back court,” the 24-year-old said. “With such service games, my partner could be facing more pressure on the receiving end.”
The Yeung duo made good starts in both sets, leading 6-3 and 11-7 in both, before their Thailand opponents upped the pace and pulled away for a 21-16, 21-14 victory.
“The Aimsaard sisters sped up midway through the match, we couldn’t deal with the change of pace and lost our rhythm,” she said. “We were forcing some shots which turned into some uncharacteristic mistakes.
“There were chances to score points but we were also conceding points when our opponents were not being threatening.”
Separately, Lui Lok-lok and Ng Wing-yung outlasted Taiwanese pair Liu Chiao-yun and Wang Yu Qiao in another women’s doubles first-round match.
The Hongkongers emerged winners after a gruelling 74-minute match, coming out on top with a 22-20, 18-21, 22-20 win to reach the second round, where they will face the Thailand pair on Thursday.
