Covid-19 continues to hit Thailand Open, but Hong Kong’s Angus Ng safely through to second round
- An Indian player tests positive and is sent to hospital, while hotel roommate is in strict self-quarantine
- Both players have been withdrawn from Bangkok’s second tournament of three back-to-back series in accordance with BWF protocols
Hong Kong’s Angus Ng Ka-long won his first-round match in men’s singles relatively comfortably at the Toyota Thailand Open, but there was a certain unease at the tournament after an Indian player became the latest to test positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday.
Despite a runner-up finish in the first Bangkok tournament last weekend, the Hong Kong number one was stretched in his opening game at Impact Arena by Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen, the 2019 World Championships bronze medallist. The home player reached game point first at 20-19 before Ng fought back to win three points in a row to take the opener 22-20. Ng upped the tempo in the next game, wrapping it up 21-12 for a straight-game victory.
“Ng is a more experienced player now and would not lose his game plan easily even if he is under difficult conditions,” said Hong Kong head coach Tim He Yiming. “He did a good job hanging in there in the first game and was dominant in the next game when his opponent seemed to have lost the tempo.”
Drawn into the bottom half of the table, Ng would need to clear tough hurdles if he wants to reach his second successive final with second seed Chou Tien-Chen, of Taiwan, and Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen – champion of the first tournament in Bangkok – standing in his way.
In mixed doubles, Hong Kong’s Chang Tak-shing and Ng Wing-yung were stopped in their tracks in a first-round loss (21-12, 18-21, 21-14) to Canada’s Joshua Hurlburt-Yu and Josephine Wu.