LI-NING Hong Kong Open Badminton Championships 2024 kicked off at the Hong Kong Coliseum on Tuesday. Other than qualifying events, both the WOMEN’S and MEN’S DOUBLES main round also started with Paris Olympians Yeung Pui Lam and Yeung Nga Ting stopped in the WOMEN’S DOUBLES first round. Against Korean duo Lee Yu Lim/Shin Seung Chan, the Hong Kong, China pair were beaten in straight games after 44 minutes with Yeung Nga Ting suffering from a back injury before the match. However, three other home pairs, Leung Yuet Yee/Ng Wing Yung, Lui Lok Lok/Tsang Hiu Yan and Fan Ka Yan/Yau Mau Ying all reached the round of 16.
World number 17 Yeung Pui Lam and Yeung Nga Ting were seeded sixth in the event and met the Korean pair in their first encounter. It was the second tournament after Yeung/Yeung competed in the Paris Olympics as they lost in the second round of last month’s Japan Open. The Hong Kong, China pair, in fact, lost their both two previous matches to the same Korean pair and it was no third time lucky at the Hong Kong Coliseum, especially Yeung Nga Ting started the match with a back injury. The Lee/Shin pair dominated the match with their speed from the beginning and made no mistake with a 21-18 win in the first game. This was followed by another 21-17 win in the second.
Yeung Nga Ting, who always pressed her back during the game, said afterwards that she suffered a back injury during training on last Friday and even needed the help of an umbrella to walk in the first two days after the injury. “It was quite surprising as I could not even move in the first two days,” she said. “But we always want to play in front of the home crowd. It was supposed to take a week for me to recover but today I felt better before the match and that’s why I gave a trial.
“In fact, I told my partner before the match that maybe I could only last for only half of the game but then the condition was not that bad and therefore I continued to finish the whole match.” Partner Yeung Pui Lam jokingly said, “In doubles, we need to help each other.” She mentioned that in the past, when she was injured, it was Yeung Nga Ting who helped cover for her. “So I also want to do my best to help. Today, I did my best to support in the backcourt, before I would say ‘keep it up,’ but now I say ‘be careful.'”
This was the first time the pair played at home after the Paris Olympics and Nga Ting said she really wanted to bring the fans a victory but the result was not what she wanted. Pui Lam was also let down by the match as they wanted to do well at the home court. “We wanted to perform well in front of the fans but there was little we could do because of the injury. We already did the best possible of us.”
A new combination of Leung Yuet Yee and Ng Wing Yung, however, reached the second round after overcoming Nicole Chan and Lin Chih Chun of Chinese Taipei in two games 21-13, 21-16. They will have the chance of making amends for their compatriots in the next match as Leung/Ng will meet the same Korean pair that prevailed over the Yeung/Yeung duo on Tuesday.
Leung and Ng have joined together for just over a month and lost in the opening round of their first encounter in last week’s Taipei Open, a Super 300 event, when they were beaten by a home pair with Lin Chih Chun in the combination. “It’s so nice to revert the result in our home courts. With Lin in the pair, we did expect an equal competition but we are much eager to win this time with the support of the fans at home. In fact, all fans cheered for them when we played in Taipei and this time we were able to enjoy the home ground advantages.”
The Leung/Ng pair also revealed their secret of covering up each other in the match. Ng mentioned that her control of the backcourt is not as strong as her partner’s, which allows their roles to be clearer while Leung said she was able to keep a cool mind when her partner made mistakes. “I can always understand her feeling and make her calm down during difficult time. On the other hand, she (Ng) has the power to speed up her game quickly. We can now work much better as a unit with the mutual understanding.”
Lui Lok Lok and Tsang Hiu Yan, who reached the quarterfinals in last week’s Taipei Open, continued their good form as they came from behind to beat Hu Ling Fan and Jheng Yu Chieh of Chinese Taipei 2-1. After losing the first game 18-21, the Hong Kong, China pair sealed victory by taking the next two games 21-15, 21-16 following an hour long battle. They will now take on Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan for a place in the quarterfinals.
The Lui/Tsang pair said they were delighted to keep focused in the match without thinking too much and that’s why they returned with a convincing win. Also, the support from home fans made a difference, injecting a lot of positive energy into their game. Lui hoped they could fully take the home court advantages to help them win a few more matches and surprised the fans. The duo has now played five to six tournaments and gradually find the key to success with better understanding between them. “We would be happy if we could win few more games in Hong Kong but still the most important thing is to perform to our best standard,” Lui said.
Another Hong Kong, China pair of Fan Ka Yan and Yau Mau Ying struggled in the opening stages against Jacqueline Cheung and Catherine Choi of Canada as they were once 3-10 behind in the first game. But then they came back strongly to lead 14-13 before taking the tie 25-23 after deuce while they made no mistake with a comfortable 21-6 win in the second to seal victory.
In the MEN’S DOUBLES, 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games representatives Law Cheuk Him and Yeung Shing Choi of Hong Kong, China went down in straight games 17-21, 19-21 to Kim Gi Jung and Kim Sa Rang of South Korea as they crashed out in the first round. Also suffering the same fate was world number two pair of Kim Astruo and Anders Rasmussen of Denmark after this defending Hong Kong Open champion lost a surprising 15-21, 23-25 match to Huang Di and Zhou Hao Dong of China.
The tournament continues at the Coliseum on Wednesday. Other Hong Kong, China players will start in front of the home crowd respectively, including top pair Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet when they kick off their campaign in the MIXED DOUBLES against Wang Chi Lin and Hsu Yin Hui of Chinese Taipei. Ng Ka Long Angus will be featured in another top clash against two-time Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in the MEN’S SINGLES whereas another home player, Lee Cheuk Yiu will meet Lu Guang Zu of China.
Tickets are now available at URBTIX. For details, please visit the official website of the LI-NING Hong Kong Open Badminton Championships at www.hkopenbadminton.org or contact the BAHKC at 2504 8318。
