KUALA LUMPUR: National men’s doubles player, Man Wei Chong is optimistic that the recent Taipei Open 2023 title win alongside partner Tee Kai Wun would serve as a breakthrough to achieve bigger things in upper-level tournaments in the near future.
As they had never won Super 500-and-above tournaments before, Wei Chong said it was important for them to keep their momentum going in a bid to shine in higher-grade tournaments, starting with Korea Open 2023 (Super 500) from 18-23 July.
“There will be three big tournaments after this, namely the Korea Open, Japan Open 2023 (Super 750) and Australian Open 2023 (Super 500), which we have yet to have a breakthrough.
“So, we do hope to keep up the momentum and perform better for the next tournaments,” he told reporters after the training session here today.
Japan Open 2023 will be held from July 25 to 30, while Australian Open 2023 will take place on Aug 1 to 6.
In the Taipei Open final last Sunday, world number 23 duo Wei Chong-Kai Wun came from behind to upset home pair, Lu Ching Yao-Yang Po Han, ranked 13th best, 20-22, 21-17, 21-14 to defend their title in the Super 300 final.
The Malaysians came close to clinching their maiden Super 500 title before succumbing to Kang Min Hyuk-Seo Seung Jae of South Korea, 15-21, 24-22, 19-21, in the Malaysia Masters 2023 final, last month.
Now that they have a chance to avenge their loss to Min Hyuk-Seung Jae in the opening round of Korea Open 2023, Wei Chong said they just need to ensure that they will be performing at their level best to beat the home duo.
In the meantime, the 23-year-old Melaka-born shuttler hoped to move up their ranking to the top 10 or 15 by the end of this year.
“We need to qualify to quarter-final or semifinal in every tournament that we participate in (to improve ranking), it’s not good if we made it just to the first or second rounds,” he added. – BERNAMA
