Hong Kong badminton star Wong Wing-ki's worlds dream ends
Ranked 12th in the world, Wong, 23, had a favourable draw and expected to reach at least the quarter-finals. But his dreams were shattered as India's Ajay Jayaram - whom Wong had beaten before - turned the tables for a 22-20, 17-21, 21-15 victory.
Rising Hong Kong star Wong Wing-ki was shown just how tough life can be on the international stage when he was upset in the opening round of the world championships yesterday at the Guangzhou Indoor Stadium.
Ranked 12th in the world, Wong, 23, had a favourable draw and was expected to reach at least the quarter-finals. But his dreams were shattered as India's Ajay Jayaram - whom Wong had beaten before - turned the tables with a 22-20, 17-21, 21-15 victory.
The result came as a blow as we did expect something better than that. He has been in good form recently
"The result came as a blow as we did expect something better than that," head coach Tim He Yiming said. "He has been in good form recently, including a win over top player Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand in the Canada Open semi-finals before coming to Guangzhou.
"The result shows Wong has a lot to learn if he wants to succeed at the highest level. But there is always a learning curve for any young player and Wong is no exception.
"He has been making steady progress and I am confident he has a great future."
In the mixed doubles, Lee Chun-hei and Chau Hoi-wah, champions at the recent Canada and US Opens, continued their winning streak with a 21-18, 21-17 victory over ninth-seeded Fran Kurniawan and Shendy Puspa Irawati of Indonesia. The unseeded duo will face a tough challenge from another Indonesian pair, Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir, the third seeds, in the next round.
"The atmosphere is great in the arena with a lot of fans cheering for you," said Chau.
"The next opponents will be very difficult, but we have nothing to lose against such a high-seeded pair and we hope the support of the fans can give us an extra edge."
Hu Yun and Yip Pui-yin, Hong Kong's top men's and women's singles players, will take to the courts today with Hu, the sixth seed, expecting an easy outing against Edwin Ekiring of Uganda in the second round.
Yip should also have few problems against Sabrina Jaquet of Switzerland. Chan Tsz-ka, who defeated Line Kjaersfeldt of Denmark 18-21, 21-8, 21-9 yesterday, will meet 13th seed Bae Yeon-ju of South Korea.
"I was leading 19-12 against her in the third game at the same venue in the second round of the Asian Games three years ago, but I lost. I will not give her the chance to do that again this time," Chan said.
China's top pair in the mixed doubles, Ma Jin and Xu Chen, were given a huge scare in their opening match against unseeded Danish pair Mads Pieler Kolding and Kamilla Rytter Juhl before fighting back to win 18-21, 21-17, 21-13.
Ma and Xu, ranked number one in the world, pumped their fists and shouted in relief after a match that lasted almost an hour.
