KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Chong Wei Feng is in a hurry to become the country’s dependable star but a lack of patience is spoiling his hope from making a breakthrough in his career.
And the same weakness surfaced yesterday as he went down 21-19, 21-23, 10-21 to former world junior champion Wang Zhengming of China in the second round of the China Masters in Changzhou.
Wei Feng, who had disposed of Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand a day earlier, had looked good to reach the quarter-finals of a Super Series for the second time when he battled to a 21-19 opening game win over world No. 16 Zhengming.
He started off sluggishly in the second game, trailing 6-13. But then showed remarkable fighting spirit to level the score at 17-17 before lapses at crucial moments saw him eventually losing the game and the match.
It was the same at the Singapore Open, where he defeated Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia and Hu Yun of Hong Kong before losing to Zhengming in a close fight in the quarter-finals.
Wei Feng was left ruing over his impatience to close out the games.
“It was really close in the first two games and luck deserted me in the second. I made a lot of mistakes in the first 11 points of the rubber game. I tried to chase him but it was too late. I should have been more patient,” said Wei Feng, who will head for the Japan Open next.
“Zhengming is a more dangerous player than Boonsak. This Chinese player’s forte is his attacking game. I will be better prepared for him next time. I have beaten at least one higher ranked player in some of the tournaments that I have played in and I hope to keep the momentum going.”
While Malaysia’s challenge fizzled out in the men’s singles, India made their presence felt when three players – R.M.V. Gurusaidutt, Sourabh Varma and Ajay Jayaram – marching into the quarter-finals.
This is the first time that India have three representatives at the quarter-final stage of a Super Series event.
Youngster Gurusaidutt will take on top seed Chen Long of China while India are assured of a place in the semi-finals as Sourabh will face Ajay in the last eight.
In the men’s doubles, Malaysia’s Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong and KLRC’s Gan Teik Chai-Ong Soon Hock stepped into the last eight with convincing wins over their weaker opponents.
Malaysia’s challenge is also alive in the mixed doubles when Ong Jian Guo-Lim Yin Loo joined Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying into the last eight. Peng Soon-Liu Ying received a first round bye.
