Singapore Open 2012: Mei Kuan, Meng Yean lead Malaysia to Women’s Doubles pre quarter-finals
Malaysia’s scratch pair Mei Kuan Chow-Meng Yean Lee grabbed the attentions after surging into Women’s Doubles pre quarter-finals of Li Ning Singapore Open on Wednesday, June 20, 2012.
They earned this honour by overwhelming Yu Yan Vanessa Neo-Ting Ting Thng in first round on their home soil.
They consumed their energies for 55 minutes to taste the victory with final results of 18-21, 22-20 and 17-21.
However, this win has put them against top seeded Japanese couple Mizuki Fujii-Reika Kakiiwa in second round of this Super Series tournament.
The Malaysian campaigners showed strong character in their opening tussle as they were not playing against the natives only but they also had to face strong opposition from the local crowd.
Mei Kuan and Meng Yean proved their mettle by ruling the courts in most part of three exhausting sets.
In first segment of the show, they employed unbeatable skills to gain an immediate lead in match score position.
They stepped forward at steady pace and dominated in first half of the set. After one-minute interval they increased their speed and established a decent lead with 17-13.
This small deficit proved final blow to the opposing team who surrendered after reading decisive figure of 18-21.
The second set of match injected thrill into contest as it kept swinging between two contenders all the way to game point situation.
Though, the local shuttlers Yu Yan and Ting Thng finished first half with a significant seven-point lead in 11-4 total but they could not maintain same momentum in third quarter of the set.
They made fatal mistakes which allowed their challengers to narrow the gap with a 13-14 margin. However, the Singaporean ladies remained few steps ahead until last stage and they levelled match score with a tight yet decisive figure of 22-20.
This new turn made third and final set more crucial as both contenders put all they got to oust their opponent. The opening part of decider belonged to Malaysian shuttlers who stood tall with 11-8.
However, the later part was full of suspense as at one stage it leant towards the locals but then Mei Kuan and Meng Yean tipped the scale in their favour with 21-17 margin.
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