BWF Malaysia Masters: Wang Tzu-wei Beats Weng Hongyang for First Time to Advance

(CNA, Taipei, May 20, by reporter Chen Jung-tsen) At the BWF Super 500 series Malaysia Masters, Taiwan's "Prince of Badminton" Wang Tzu-wei defeated Chinese player Weng Hongyang today in the first round of men's singles with a score of 21-17, 19-21, 21-18, successfully advancing to the next round. Wang, who has been in poor form this season, has seen his world ranking fall to 37th. This week, he competed in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Malaysia Masters, facing world number 15 Weng Hongyang of China in the first round. Wang had failed to win in their two previous encounters, but after a tough three-game battle lasting over an hour, he finally secured his first victory against Weng. In the first game, Wang engaged in a tight contest with his opponent in the early stages and led 11-10 at the mid-game interval. However, he then hit a rough patch, allowing his opponent to turn the score around. Wang regained his composure at a critical moment, seized an opportunity to score 6 consecutive points, and took the first game 21-17. Wang failed to capitalize on his momentum in the second game, falling behind 1-8 at the start. Although he saved four game points, he still lost the game 19-21, leveling the match. However, Wang delivered a strong performance in the decisive third game, especially showing a burst of consecutive points after the technical timeout. He ultimately won 21-18 to advance to the men's singles second round, where he will seek his first BWF World Tour quarter-final spot of the season. Another Taiwanese men's singles player, Wang Po-wei from the Land Bank team, faced India's Tharun Mannepalli, a player with a similar ranking, in the first round. Despite losing the first game 17-21, Wang Po-wei staged a comeback, winning the next two games 21-14 and 21-8 to also pass the first-round test. He will challenge Indonesian star Jonatan Christie in the next round. (Editor: Chang Ya-ching)