Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – The Malaysia Masters kicked off with a mix of upsets and expected victories on Tuesday, as Malaysian shuttlers battled it out at the Axiata Arena. The day saw a stunning upset in men’s doubles, a tenacious performance from a budding pair, and consistent play from seasoned veterans, though the men’s singles contingent faced a tough outing in the qualifying rounds.
In a thrilling upset, the Malaysian world No. 41 men’s doubles pair, Choong Hon Jian and Haikal Nazri, “stunned Thailand’s world No. 14 Dechapol Puaravaranukroh-Kittinupong Kedren to storm into the second round of the Malaysia Masters on Tuesday.” The duo secured “a hard-earned 21-15, 21-18 win in 40 minutes” in their first-ever meeting against the Thai pair, who were semi-finalists at the Thailand Open last week. For Haikal, who had been sidelined since December due to a thigh injury, this win marks a significant turnaround after early exits in the Taiwan and Thailand Opens.
Meanwhile, determination shone through for the men’s pair Aaron Tai and Kang Khai Xing. Despite battling illness, the “world No. 58 brushed aside teammates and world No. 67 Bryan Jeremy Goonting-Fazriq Razif 21-17, 21-17 in just 34 minutes in the qualifying round” to advance to the main draw for the first time.
Aaron revealed, “I got the fever yesterday (Monday), but I never thought of withdrawing from the tournament. Before the match, I felt a little tired, but stepping onto the court and seeing all the fans gave me energy.” Khai Xing acknowledged the unique challenge of facing compatriots, stating, “It’s never easy playing against teammates. They know our game inside out, and we know theirs.” The reigning world junior champions are set to face Denmark’s world No. 50 William Kryger Boe-Christian Faust Kjaer, who recently finished runners-up at the Thailand Open.
Veteran men’s doubles pair Low Hang Yee and Ng Eng Cheong, ranked world No. 39, also secured their spot in the second round, defeating Taiwan’s world No. 70 Chiang Chien Wei-Wu Hsuan Yi 21-14, 21-16. They await the winners of the clash between Denmark’s world No. 1 Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen and China’s world No. 29 Xie Hao Nan-Zeng Wei Han.
However, the men’s singles qualifying matches proved to be a challenging hurdle for Malaysian shuttlers. “World No. 77 Jacky Kok was shown the exit by world No. 92 Hu Zhe An of China, going down 22-20, 21-11.” Similarly, “World No. 48 Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin lost to Taiwan’s world No. 65 Huang Yu Kai 8-21, 21-17, 21-18,” and “World No. 83 Tan Jia Jie also bowed out early, falling 21-17, 21-8 to Vietnam’s world No. 75 Nguyen Hai Dang.”
In mixed doubles, there was cause for celebration as “World No. 315 Too Ming Yap-Lee Yu Shan advanced to the main draw after upsetting India’s world No. 79 J. Mohit-J. Lakshita 21-15, 21-16.” They will now face Thailand’s world No. 99 Ratchapol Makkasasithorn-Nattamon Laisuan in the first round.
In women’s doubles, Ho Lo Ee-Amanda Yap emerged victorious in a close encounter, “edging Thailand’s Phattharin Aiamvareesrisakul-Sarisa Janpeng 19-21, 21-14, 22-20.” Unfortunately, “world No. 284 Cheng Su Hui-Tan Zhing Yi were beaten 20-22, 21-13, 21-15 by Taiwan’s world No. 167 Sung Yi Hsuan-Yang Yi Hsun.”
View the results of all matches on day one of the 2025 Malaysia Masters here.