KUALA LUMPUR: Hoo Pang Ron-Lai Pei Jing’s resurgence has repeatedly run into Chinese roadblocks, and another awaits them in the Korea Open quarter-finals on Friday.
The country’s world No. 15 face China’s world No. 2 Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin as they seek a fourth consecutive semi-final appearance following encouraging runs in Denmark, France and Germany.
Pang Ron-Pei Jing booked their place by brushing aside South Korea’s world No. 154 Jin Sung Ik-Lee Seung Hee 21-8, 21-15 in 32 minutes at Jinnam Stadium in Yeosu on Thursday.
Their recent results underline their growing consistency, but overcoming the very best remains the next step for the independent pair, who began competing together in May.
Four of their five appearances in the semi-finals or beyond have ended against China’s two highest-ranked combinations, with Zhen Bang-Ya Xin stopping them in Macau and world No. 1 Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping denying them at the China Masters, Denmark Open and French Open.
Zhen Bang-Ya Xin hold a 1-0 head-to-head advantage after beating the Malaysians 21-11, 24-22 in the Macau Open semi-finals in June.
Pang Ron-Pei Jing have since made considerable strides, reaching the China Masters final in September before stringing together three successive runs to at least the last four on their European swing.
Yet Yan Zhe-Dong Ping have remained an imposing barrier, winning all three meetings against the Malaysians without dropping a game.
The Chinese pair prevailed 21-19, 21-16 in the China Masters final, 21-13, 21-13 in the Denmark Open semi-finals and 21-10, 21-13 in the French Open final.
Pang Ron nevertheless believes those experiences have helped his development, saying after the French Open that he was learning to manage his emotions and enjoy competing more.
“We just go step by step and never give ourselves too much pressure,” Pang Ron said.
There is also evidence that Pang Ron-Pei Jing can trouble leading opposition, having swept aside China’s current world No. 6 Guo Xin Wa-Chen Fang Hui 21-13, 21-9 in the French Open semi-finals.
At last week’s Hylo Open, they pushed France’s world No. 3 and reigning world champions Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue to 70 minutes before losing 20-22, 21-16, 17-21 in the last four.
Pei Jing subsequently expressed pride in their progress but made clear that their ambitions extended beyond creditable defeats.
“We’ve given everything we had in every single match,” she wrote on social media after their Hylo exit.
Now competing in their fifth tournament in as many weeks, Pang Ron-Pei Jing have reached the Korea Open quarter-finals without dropping a game.
Pang Ron-Pei Jing will seek to avenge their Macau defeat against top seeds Zhen Bang-Ya Xin, who advanced with a 21-11, 21-18 second-round victory.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s world No. 179 Chen Tang Jie-Chan Wen Tse bowed out after losing 21-7, 21-13 to China’s world No. 8 and third seeds Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi in 29 minutes.