【Hong Kong Badminton Open】Wong Wing-ki Wins Two Matches for Qualification in Main Draw, Tang and Tse Score Victory in Mixed Doubles’ First Round in 28 Minutes

“YONEX-SUNRISE Hong Kong Open Badminton Championships 2019” officially kicked off at Hong Kong Coliseum today (Nov 12) with matches of the qualification rounds and the first round of Mixed Doubles on the first day. The Hong Kong team had a total of six representatives (including three Singles’ players and three Doubles’ pairs) qualified for the main draw, including Men’s Singles player Vincent Wong Wing-ki after taking two consecutive matches in pocket. Tang Chun-man and Tse Ying-suet, Hong Kong’s No. 1 Mixed Doubles’ pair, just spent 28 minutes to overpower their opponent in straight sets at the first-round match in the afternoon.

A total of eight Hong Kong players emerged as winners from the qualification rounds today and advanced to the main draw, including Vincent Wong in Men’s Singles, Yip Pui-yin and Cheung Ying-mei in Women’s Singles, Chang Tak-ching/Yeung Ming-nok and Lam Wai-lok/Li Kuen-hon in Men’s Doubles, and Yeung Ming-nok/ Ng Tsz-yau in Mixed Doubles. Among these categories, only players in Men’s Singles had to play two matches within the same day for a place in the main draw. Vincent Wong defeated his junior Hong Kong teammate Chan Yin-chak in 47 minutes in straight sets (20:20, 21:19) in the morning, before rallying from behind to overcome Victor Svendsen from Denmark in 2:1 (22:24, 21:10, 21:15) in the 59-minute afternoon match. Wong advanced to the main draw and will take on Jonatan Christie from Indonesia in the Round of 32.

After the victory, Vincent Wong raised his arms to express his gratitude for fans and supporters at Coliseum. He revealed afterwards that he is going to be a father in February next year, but he has been at a career low when getting ready for a new life. “It is my first time to become a father, so I don’t know how to handle many things. These have impacted my game and training, and I’ve felt agitated. Together with the injury on my right leg, my performance has just been average and sometimes I’ve doubted myself. But I’m slowly adjusting now.”

Tang Chun-man and Tse Ying-suet, Hong Kong’s No. 1 Mixed Doubles’ pair, made an appearance in the first-round match in the afternoon today. Currently ranked 14th in the world, the Hong Kong duo encountered the Chinese Taipei pair, Lee Jhe-Huei and Hsu Ya-ching, who are 25 places lower in the world’s ranking. The Hong Kong pair only spent 28 minutes to overwhelm the opponent in straight sets (21:17, 21:11), and advanced to the second round. Tang and Tse said after the match that they did not think it was an easy win and there was still much room for improvement. “We performed about 70 to 80 per cent of our game. Perhaps, it was just our first match so our game and performance were not the best yet. We were too impatient in the beginning so the opponent was able to trail behind closely. We stabilized our game and performance after taking the first set.” Their next opponent is No. 6-seeded pair from Malaysia, Chan Peng-soon and Goh Liu-ying.

Other seeded pairs in Mixed Doubles today were also able to seal victory and reach the next round. No.2 seeded duo, Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping from China, overpowered a German opponent in straight sets (21:16, 21:13), while No.3 seeded pair, Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai from Thailand, tamed the Indonesian opponent in 2:0 (21:10, 21:18). Seo Seung Jae and Chae Yujung, No.5 seeded pair from Korea, came from behind to crush another German duo in 2:1 (9:21, 21:14, 21:14).

More first round matches will be featured in “YONEX-SUNRISE Hong Kong Open Badminton Championships 2019” on Wednesday. The world’s No.1 Men’s Singles player Kento Momota from Japan announced his withdrawal today due to injuries, while Angus Ng Ka-long, Hong Kong’s No.1 Men’s Singles player, will take on his opponent at 7:10 pm on Wednesday.

Tickets of “YONEX-SUNRISE Hong Kong Open Badminton Championships 2019” is now for sale at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). Ticket prices are same as last year from $40 to $680. Concession tickets are available for students and senior citizens in some of the sessions. Get your tickets as soon as possible!

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