BANGKOK, Feb 1 — National men’s singles Ng Tze Yong notched up an opening-round win in the 2023 Thailand Masters held at the Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok today.

The 22-year-old Ng took 40 minutes to defeat Brazil’s Ygor Coelho 21-19, 21-10. He will now face Heo Kwang Hee of South Korea tomorrow.

Independent shuttler Cheam June Wei moved into the Round of 16 after scoring an impressive 21-18, 21-17 victory over Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen. He will face Hong Kong’s Angus Ng Ka Long tomorrow.

However, another independent, Soong Joo Ven failed to clear the first round, losing 16-21, 25-23, 20-22 to Hong Kong’s Chan Yin Chak.

Meanwhile, mixed doubles pairs of Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie and Chan Peng Soon-Cheah Yee See began their respective campaigns with a win.

World number seven Soon Huat-Shevon took 20 minutes to beat Israel’s world number 62 pair Misha Zilberman-Svetlana Zilberman 21-9,21-14. They will now face either Japanese duo Hiroki Midorikawa-Natsu Saito or China’s Cheng Xing-Chen Fang Hui.

Peng Soon-Yee See, ranked 34 in the world, beat Taiwanese duo Chang Ko Chi-Lee Cheh Chin 18-21, 21-19, 21-15. They will face Indonesian pair Amri Syahnawi-Winny Oktavina Kandow tomorrow.

Meanwhile, men’s doubles pair Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong moved into the second round after defeating Indonesian pair Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani 27-25,21-16. They will be up against Indonesia’s Muhammad Shobihul Fikri-Bagas Maulana.

In the women’s singles, S. Kisona, who left the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) last month, succumbed to a 19-21, 21-15,12-21 defeat to Thailand’s Pornpicha Choeikeewong. — Bernama