Malaysia Open 2025: Chinese Players Excel, Popov Shocks Christie on Day 2
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Kuala Lumpur, Jan 8 (NationPress) Chinese players delivered a remarkable performance, and Toma Junior Popov caused a significant upset against Indonesia's Jonatan Christie on the second day of the Malaysia Open 2025 held here on Wednesday. The Chinese athletes succeeded in advancing through all five categories of the tournament taking place at the Axiata Arena, while Popov's victory was attributed to a strategic approach, resulting in a scoreline of 21-8, 14-21, 26-24.
In the men's singles, Li Shifeng triumphed over Priyanshu Rajawat from India with scores of 21-11, 21-16, securing his place in the round of 16.
In women's singles, Wang Zhiyi defeated Hsu Wen-chi from Chinese Taipei with a score of 21-9, 21-13. Additionally, Wang's teammate Han Yue eliminated Pai Yu-po of Chinese Taipei, while Gao Fangjie secured a victory against Kristy Gilmour from Britain, as reported by Xinhua.
The men's doubles pair Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang won against South Korea's Kim Gi-jung and Kim Sa-rang with scores of 21-18, 21-18, advancing to the last 16. In the women's doubles, Li Yijing and Luo Xumin convincingly defeated Hong Kong, China's Fan Ka Yan and Yau Mau Ying with scores of 21-14, 21-14.
In mixed doubles, Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin overcame Thailand's Ruttanapak Oupthong and Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat with scores of 18-21, 21-8, 23-21, while Guo Xinwa and Chen Fanghui triumphed over Chen Cheng-kuan and Hsu Yin-Hui from Chinese Taipei.
However, men's singles player Weng Hongyang and the men's doubles team of Ren Xiangyu/Xie Haonan faced elimination.
Heading into his match against the third seed with a 0-4 record in previous encounters, Popov understood the importance of minimizing errors to enhance his chances. The Frenchman drew confidence from their close past contests, two of which were closely decided. The most recent encounter at the China Open in September ended in Christie's favor, with a score of 16-21, 21-18, 22-20 after a challenging 73-minute match.
This victory propels Popov into a second-round match against Ng Ka Long Angus, who defeated Weng Hong Yang with scores of 16-21, 21-19, 21-11.
