Asia World Championships Qualifiers Get Underway in Kuala Lumpur

The 2023-2024 World Championship Asia Qualifying Event got underway earlier at the National Sports Complex in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with 16 players advancing to the quarter finals, all in pursuit of the golden tickets to the biggest tournament on the PSA calendar.

In the men’s event, top seed Ryunosuke Tsukue got off to a winning start as he overcame Hong Kong’s Ka Hei Ho in under half an hour. His quarter final opponent will be Sri Lanka’s Ravindu Laksiri, who came through against Iraq’s Mohamed Ferman Hassan in three games.

The first upset came from Malaysia’s Ong Sai Hung, who recovered from 2-1 down to defeat Hong Kong’s Matthew Lai in 64 minutes. After the two shared the opening two games, Lai moved ahead on the scoreboard by winning game three 11-7 but Sai Hung battled back to win the fourth comfortably and used that momentum to win the deciding game 11-7 to advance. He’ll now face compatriot Bryan Tze Kang Lim, who scored an upset over No.5 seed Wong Chi Him in a 59-minute four game tussle.

The bottom half quarter finals will feature three home players as Malaysian trio Addeen Idrakie, Mohammad Syafiq Kamal and Darren Pragasam all claimed victories on the opening day. No.2 seed Idrakie will play compatriot Pragasam after needing less than half an hour to defeat Leo Chung whilst Pragasam came through in four games against Ammar Altamimi. After beating compatriot Hafiz Zhafri in four games, Kamal will now play Hong Kong’s No.3 seed Tang Ming Hong for a spot in the last four.

Two upsets took place in the women’s event in round one as Malaysian duo Sehveetrraa Kumar and Yu Jie produced quality performances to down No.6 seed Erisa Sano Herring and No.8 seed Min-gyeong Heo respectively. Jie was forced to come back from 2-1 in her clash with Heo and came through 13-11 in the decider to book her place in the last eight. Whilst Kumar had no such trouble in moving past Herring, winning 3-0. Kumar will now face top seed Cheng Nga Ching whilst Jie will take on No.2 seeded Indian Akanksha Salunkhe, who narrowly avoided an early exit, beating Thanusaa Uthrian in five games.

The remaining seeds all navigated their way through to the quarter finals in confident fashion. No.4 seed Yiwen Chan was the only player to drop a game as she defeated Japan’s Akari Midorikawa in four games. No.3 seed Wai Yhann Au Yeong, No.5 seed Ching Hei Fung and No.7 seed Toby Tse all secured straight games victories to advance.

Results: Men’s Round One
[1] Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) bt Ka Hei Ho (HKG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-4, 11-7 (29m)
Bryan Tze Kang Lim (MAS) bt [5] Wong Chi Him (HKG) 3-1: 4-11, 11-6, 11-7, 12-10 (59m)
[3] Tang Ming Hong (HKG) bt Tomo Endo (JPN) 3-1: 7-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 (42m)
[7] Darren Pragasam (MAS) bt Ammar Altamimi (KUW) 3-1: 11-9, 7-11, 11-2, 11-1 (37m)
[8] Ravindu Laksiri (SRI) bt Mohamed Ferman Hassan (IRQ) 3-0: 19-17, 11-6, 11-2 (36m)
Ong Sai Hung (MAS) bt [4] Matthew Lai (HKG) 3-2: 9-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-5, 11-7 (64m)
[6] Mohammad Syafiq Kamal (MAS) bt Hafiz Zhafri (MAS) 3-1: 11-7, 11-3, 6-11, 11-5 (51m)
[2] Addeen Idrakie (MAS) bt Leo Chung (HKG) 3-0: 11-3, 11-8, 11-2 (28m)

Draw: Men’s Quarter Finals
[1] Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) v [8] Ravindu Laksiri (SRI)
Bryan Tze Kang Lim (MAS) v Ong Sai Hung (MAS)
[3] Tang Ming Hong (HKG) v [6] Mohammad Syafiq Kamal (MAS)
[7] Darren Pragasam (MAS) v [2] Addeen Idrakie (MAS)

Results: Women’s Round One
[1] Cheng Nga Ching (HKG) bt Goh Zhi Xuan (MAS) 3-2: 8-11, 11-5, 11-6, 6-11, 11-6 (42m)
[5] Ching Hei Fung (HKG) bt Sugimoto Risa (JPN) 3-0: 13-11, 11-3, 11-6 (27m)
[3] Wai Yhann Au Yeong (SGP) bt Liu Kwai Chi (MAC) 3-0: 11-5, 11-2, 11-4 (18m)
Sehveetrraa Kumar (MAS) bt [6] Erisa Sano Herring (JPN) 3-0: 11-7, 12-10, 11-4 (27m)
Yu Jie (MAS) bt [8] Min-gyeong Heo (KOR) 3-2: 7-11, 11-7, 5-11, 11-5, 13-11 (37m)
[4] Yiwen Chan (MAS) bt Akari Midorikawa (JPN) 3-1: 11-6, 3-11, 11-1, 11-5 (32m)
[7] Toby Tse (HKG) bt Anam Mustafa Aziz (PAK) 3-0: 11-5, 11-2, 11-6 (15m)
[2] Akanksha Salunkhe (IND) bt Thanusaa Uthrian (MAS) 3-2: 11-7, 8-11, 11-3, 7-11, 11-5 (45m)

Draw: Women’s Quarter Finals
[1] Cheng Nga Ching (HKG) v Yu Jie (MAS)
[5] Ching Hei Fung (HKG) v [4] Yiwen Chan (MAS)
[3] Wai Yhann Au Yeong (SGP) v [7] Toby Tse (HKG)
Sehveetrraa Kumar (MAS) v [2] Akanksha Salunkhe (IND)