KUALA LUMPUR: After a disastrous outing at the Malaysia Masters, world No. 24 Ng Tze Yong knows he has plenty to prove in the Thailand Open this week.
And what a way to bounce as the 23-year-old stunned Taiwanese ace Chou Tien Chen, the top seed, to reach his third quarter-finals on the World Tour this year.
Tze Yong twice recovered from a big deficit, 16-7 in the first game and then 15-10 in the second, to pull off a remarkable 23-21, 23-21 win over last year's World Championships' bronze medallist in Bangkok today.
The win was Tze Yong's first against world No. 7 Tien Chen after three encounters. The last time they clashed was at the Swiss Open last eight in March. Then, Tze Yong could not see out the match after sustaining an inner thigh hamstring strain.
A buoyed Tze Yong will now aim to break the quarter-final barrier for the first time this year after having his run halted at that stage during the All England and Swiss Open.
National coaching director Wong Choonh Hann said: "It is a good win for Tze Yong, but we want him to remain trending in the right direction.
"It is about the right time for him to prove himself and fight for greater results. Ultimately, we want to see him qualify for the (Paris) Olympics next year.
"The win will help ease some pressure off him. I hope he will gain some confidence."
Tze Yong will play against Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu or Denmark's Magnus Johannesen next.
Meanwhile, qualifier Leong Jun Hao brought more joy in the men's singles as he made it a rare occasion for Malaysia to have two representatives in the last eight of a World Tour event.
Jun Hao also advanced after prevailing 20-22, 21-13, 21-19 against world No. 36 Frenchman Christo Popov in the 76-minute battle.It was the third successive rubber-game match endured by the world No. 65 Jun Hao in as many days.
"It is tiring as I had to play extra (qualifying round) matches on Tuesday to get into the main draw, but my fitness level is still all right," said Jun Hao."Having come this far, it actually made me forget all the tiredness. I got even more pumped up instead.
"I didn't really have a target coming into this week, but now I'm in the quarter-finals. Let's see if I can progress further."
Jun Hao said he's also drawing inspiration from fellow Indian qualifier Kieran George's fairy tale run in the tournament.
Kieran, the world No. 59, continued to upset the form book by beating Malaysia Masters finalist Weng Hong Yang 21-11, 21-19. The win came a day after Kieran had scored a sensational win over third seed Shi Yu Qi of China. He won 21-18, 22-20.
"Kieran's fine run further proved that nothing is impossible," he said.
Sadly, Malaysia's challenge in the mixed doubles ended following the elimination of Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie, Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei and Chan Peng Soon-Cheah Yee See.
World No 7 Soon Huat-Shevon lost 21-13, 21-17 by Hong Kong's Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet to mark their sixth defeat in seven matches, while Tang Jie-Ee Wei ran out of steam a day after upsetting world No. 5 Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping, losing 21-23, 21-17, 21-11 to Yuki Kaneko-Misaki Matsutomo of Japan.
Peng Soon-Yee See too were shown the exit with a 21-13, 21-17 defeat to fifth seeds Kim Won Ho-Jeong Na Eun of South Korea.
