KUALA LUMPUR: The odds are heavily stacked against her, but women's singles shuttler Goh Jin Wei is not afraid to face world No 2 Tai Tzu Ying in the second round of the Malaysia Masters on Thursday.
In the first round on Wednesday, the Malaysian two-time former world junior champion fought tooth and nail, even risking fainting on court to score a 21-19, 21-18 upset over world No 16 Zhang Beiwen of the United States.
Admitting she is still far from her best, the 23-year-old, who underwent colectomy surgery in 2019, is still hopeful of regaining her old form.
"I think I got a little lucky, because the match was very close. We (Beiwen) know each other's game very well as we've been training together recently.
"My body is still adapting to my strict diet, and I nearly fainted on court earlier. The match was so intense and tight that I felt like passing out when we were changing ends," said Jin Wei, who currently trains at the Sports Affairs badminton academy under coach Nova Armada.
Playing without any pressure, Jin Wei, who made the team for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this month, has promised to bring the fight to Tzu Ying, whom she has never defeated before.
"I will try my best to put her under pressure, especially with the backing of the fans.
"Apart from enjoying the encounter, I also want to learn from her. It's not always you get to play a player like Tzu Ying," added Jin Wei, who made the cut for the tournament proper after clearing the qualifying round on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, world No 48 Ng Tze Yong is Malaysia's sole representative in the men's singles event after his compatriots, including former World Championships bronze medallist Liew Daren, crashed out in the first round.
Daren suffered a fourth consecutive first-round defeat on the World Tour this season when he went down 21-17, 21-15 to eighth seed Angus Ng Ka Long of Hong Kong. Angus will face Mark Caljouw of the Netherlands next.
Like Daren, another independent shuttler, Soong Joo Ven, also bit the dust, losing 21-14, 21-12 to China's Li She Feng.
Former Asian junior champion Leong Jun Hao failed to make an impression, despite his strong showing in the qualifying round on Tuesday, as he too ran out of steam in the opening round. Jun Hao succumbed 21-12, 21-18 to Thailand's Kantaphon Wangcharoen.
RESULTS (Malaysians unless stated)
Men's singles: Ng Tze Yong bt Brian Yang (Can) 21-15, 21-15; Li Shi Feng (Chn) bt Soong Joo Ven 21-14, 21-12; Angus Ng Ka Long (Hkg) bt Liew Daren 21-17, 21-15; Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (Ina) bt Kenta Nishimoto (Jpn) 8-21, 21-14, 22-20; Chou Tien Chen (Tai) bt Sameer Verma (Ind) 10-21, 21-12, 21-14; Lu Guang Zu (Chn) bt Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha) w.o; H.S.Prannoy (Ind) bt Brice Leverdez (Fra) 21-19, 21-14; Kento Momota (Jpn) bt Koki Watanabe (Jpn) 21-18, 21-13; Leong Jun Hao bt Kantaphon Wangcharoen (Tha) 21-12, 21-18
Women's singles: An Se Young (Kor) bt Iris Wang (Usa) 21-18, 21-13; Goh Jin Wei bt Zhang Beiwen (Usa) 21-19, 21-18; Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn) bt Michelle Li (Can) 21-15, 21-13; P.V. Sindhu (Ind) bt He Bingjiao (Chn) 21-13, 17-21, 21-15; Tai Tzu Ying (Tai) bt Sim Yu Jin (Kor) 21-11, 21-8; Chen Yu Fei (Chn) bt Lianne Tan (Bel) 21-17, 21-11; Nozomi Okuhara (Jpn) bt Yvonne Li (Bel) 21-9, 21-19; Wang Zhi Yi (Chn) bt Han Yue (Chn) 21-19, 21-16; Ratchanok Intanon (Tha) bt Busanan Ongbamrungphan (Tha) 21-12, 21-13; Kim Ga Eun (Kor) bt Saina Nehwal (Ind) 16-21, 21-17, 21-14; Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (Ina) bt Qi Xuefei (Fra) 21-10, 21-10; Pornpawee Chochuwong (Tha) bt Line Kjaersfeldt (Den) 21-11, 21-18
Men's doubles: Chang Ko Chi-Po Li Wei (Tai) bt He Jiting-Zhou Hao Dong (Chn) 18-21, 21-13, 21-18; Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Haikal Nazri bt Boon Xin Yuan-Wong Tien Ci 15-21, 21-17, 21-17
Women's doubles: Apriyani Rahayu-Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti (Ina) bt Supissara Paewsampran-Puttita Supajirakul (Tha) 21-13, 21-10; Mayu Matsumoto-Wakana Nagahara (Jpn) bt Pichamon Phatcharaphisutsin-Nannapas Sukklad (Tha) 21-10, 21-11.
Mixed doubles: Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai (Tha) bt Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto-Lisa Ayu Kusumawati (Ina) 21-11, 21-16; Hoo Pang Ron-Toh Ee Wei bt Kim Won Ho-Jeong Na Eun (Kor) 23-25, 21-8, 21-7; Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai bt Choong Hon Jian-Peck Yen Wei 21-13, 22-20; Chen Tang Jie-Valeree Siow bt Mark Lamfuss-Isabel Lohau (Ger) 21-17, 21-11; Hafiz Faizal-Serena Kani (Ina) bt Soong Joo Ven-Goh Liu Ying 19-21, 21-15, 21-18; Yuki Kaneko-Misaki Matsutomo (Jpn) bt Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet (Hkg) 21-17, 19-21, 21-19; Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino (Jpn) bt Gul Xin Wa-Zhang Shu Xian (Chn) 21-23, 21-12, 21-12; Wang Li Lyu-Huang Dong Ping (Chn) bt Ko Sung Hyun-Eom Hey Won (Kor) 21-12, 21-17; Chan Peng Soon-Cheah Tee See bt Fabricio Farias-Jaqueline Lima (Bra) 21-12, 21-15; Zheng Si Wei-Huang Ya Qiong (Chn) bt Jones Ralfy Jansen-Linda Efler (Ger) 21-14, 21-12