Hong Kong's Wei Nan struggles in first round at world badminton championships
Asian Games bronze medallist is given a scare before beating Howard Shu of the United States
Hong Kong’s Wei Nan was given a scare on the opening day of the World Badminton Championships in Jakarta on Monday.
He had to work hard before winning his first-round singles clash 21-19, 24-26, 21-18 against Howard Shu of the United States.
I just played as an underdog, to gain experience. The pressure was on him [Chou]. I just played my normal game
Wei’s next opponent is 15th seed Tommy Sugianto of Indonesia. Sugianto brushed aside Spaniard Pablo Abian in his first-round encounter.
Top men’s seed Chen Long of China starts his campaign on Tuesday.
Hong Kong’s Yip Pui-yin had little difficulty beating Joy Lai of Australia in straight games 21-11, 21-12 in the women’s singles. Yip will face eighth seed Sung Ji-hyun of South Korea in the next round.
Teammate Cheung Ngan-yi overcame Kati Tolmoff of Estonia 21-15, 21-11 to set up a second-round match against second seed Saina Nehwal of India.