Chen Zheng-kuan / Liu Guang-heng Advance to Australian Badminton Quarterfinals, Achieve Best Result as a Pair

(Central News Agency, Taipei, June 11) Taiwanese men's doubles badminton pair Chen Zheng-kuan and Liu Guang-heng, the new 'Kuan-Guang Duo,' came from behind to defeat the Malaysian pair of Chew Wei Jie and Chang Yu Yu 13-21, 21-18, 21-17 in the Round of 16 of the BWF Super 500 Australian Open on Tuesday, advancing to the quarterfinals. This marks their best performance since forming a partnership.

Liu and Chen only began competing internationally as a pair at the Thailand Open in May of this year. They are currently ranked 174th in the BWF world rankings, and this was only their fifth tournament together. Their opponents, the Malaysian pair of Chew and Chang, are also a newly formed duo after splitting from their previous partners.

In the first game, the Taiwanese pair took an early 6-3 lead. However, Chang Yu Yu, who was once ranked as high as 6th in the world in men's doubles, led the Malaysian pair on a 9-2 run to overtake the lead, forcing the Taiwanese pair to concede the first game.

The Taiwanese pair fought back in the second game. Despite trailing 13-16 late in the game, they mounted a 6-1 run to take the lead and even the match at one game apiece.

In the decisive third game, the Taiwanese pair showed their resilience. Trailing 9-12, they used excellent front-court play and drives to launch an 8-1 run, turning the match around and breaking their opponents' spirit to win 2-1.

With their quarterfinal berth secured, Chen and Liu will next face the Indian pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and Arjun Madathil Ramachandran.

Besides Chen and Liu, the only other Taiwanese men's doubles pair in the Australian Open is the 'twin duo' of Lee Fang-jen and Lee Fang-chih, who were scheduled to play their Round of 16 match against the Australian pair of Ikawa Mitsuki and Huang Yu-heng. (Editor: Chang Ming-kun) 1150611