KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12 — Rising Japanese star Kodai Naraoka gunned down another Malaysian when he dispatched Ng Tze Yong 21-15, 19-21, 21-15 to move into the men’s singles quarter-finals of the Malaysia Open at the Axiata Arena, here, today.
Despite more than 2,000 fans cheering him on, the 22-year-old Tze Yong, who is ranked 25th in the world, still fell short against the world number seven Naraoka, who disposed of world number two and Malaysia’s best hope Lee Zii Jia 21-13, 17-21, 19-21 yesterday.
Tze Yong, who won the first game 21-15, was just two points away from victory in the second game when he led 19-15, only for Naraoka to fight back and take the match into a third-game decider and dash the Malaysian’s hopes of victory.
This is the second time that Naraoka has beaten Tze Yong, having eliminated the Malaysian in the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Junior Championships in Canada.
“I accept my defeat. When I was leading (in the second game), he played very well and it wasn’t like I made silly mistakes. So, I feel that this is a lesson for me. He changed his strategy and maybe I was not very focused.
“There’s definitely a gap between me and Kodai, especially when it comes to experience. I must compete in more tournaments to gain experience and work extra hard in training,” said a downcast Tze Yong.
Naraoka, who was in a buoyant mood, will take on HS Prannoy in tomorrow's quarter-finals after the Indian shuttler edged Indonesia’s Chico Aura Wardoyo 21-9, 15-21, 21-16 today.
“I don’t know if I’m going to be the champion (in the Malaysia Open), but I am going to fight to win every single game,” said the Japanese. — Bernama
