KUALA LUMPUR: Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun will be out to settle an old score when they face Denmark’s Daniel Lundgaard-Mads Vestergaard in the second round of the Kumamoto Masters Japan on Thursday.
The world No. 9 lost their only previous meeting against the world No. 14 Danes at the 2024 China Masters, but will head into the rematch buoyed by their recent impressive form.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun captured the French Open title last month before reaching the Korea Open semi-finals last week.
Thursday’s encounter also carries significance as Malaysia look to extend an impressive record in Kumamoto, where the country’s men’s doubles representatives have reached at least the semi-finals in every edition since the tournament’s inception in 2023.
Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi started the trend three years ago, followed by Tan Wee Kiong-Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub in 2024 and Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani last year.
Wei Chong-Kai Wun kept themselves in contention to continue that streak after overcoming Thailand’s Peeratchai Sukphun-Pakkapon Teeraratsakul 21-18, 21-23, 21-13 in a 56-minute opening-round battle on Wednesday.
Their Danish opponents also endured a difficult start, surviving a scare against Wee Kiong-Azriyn before prevailing 21-16, 16-21, 22-20.
Meanwhile, Malaysia are guaranteed at least one men’s doubles quarter-finalist, with Sze Fei-Izzuddin and Aaron Tai-Yap Roy King set for an intriguing all-Malaysian showdown.
The encounter will mark the first meeting between the two combinations, who have enjoyed encouraging runs in recent weeks.
World No. 5 Sze Fei-Izzuddin, seeded fourth, finished runners-up at the French Open last month, following a quarter-final appearance at the Denmark Open.
Aaron-Roy King, meanwhile, have quickly established themselves as a promising new combination following the national team’s recent men’s doubles reshuffle.
They made an immediate impact by capturing the Arctic Open title in their first tournament together before reaching the Hylo Open semi-finals.
Thursday’s clash will therefore provide a useful measure of their progress against one of Malaysia’s most established partnerships.
Both pairs were convincing in their opening matches on Tuesday.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin needed just 28 minutes to dispatch Denmark’s Christian Faust Kjaer-Rasmus Kjaer 21-15, 21-16.
Aaron-Roy King were even more ruthless, brushing aside Japan’s Kakeru Kumagai-Hiroki Nishi 21-8, 21-14 in only 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, Chia Weijie-Teo Ee Yi can take encouragement despite their opening-round defeat to China’s He Ji Ting-Ren Xiang Yu on Wednesday.
Having successfully negotiated qualifying, the Malaysians pushed the 2023 Kumamoto champions before eventually going down 19-21, 21-14, 21-10 in 50 minutes.