KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will have two chances to win titles at the Kaohsiung Masters after both Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting and Wee Yee Hern-Vannee Gobi reached their respective finals on Saturday.
Women’s pair Xin Yee-Carmen will face familiar opponents in their bid for a first World Tour title, while mixed doubles combination Yee Hern-Vannee will face an Olympic silver medallist.
World No. 26 Xin Yee-Carmen eased past Taiwan’s Lin Yen Yu-Wang Yi Zhen 21-13, 21-9 in the semi-final of the Super 100 tournament at the Kaohsiung Arena.
“Xin Yee and Carmen’s emotional control, preparation and execution of the game plan were good, and they did well in carrying out what we had planned,” said coach Wong Pei Tty.
“Tomorrow’s final will be a tough challenge against opponents they have known since they were young.
“The main thing is to stay composed and execute our game plan throughout the match.”
Top seeds Xin Yee-Carmen will meet Indonesia’s world No. 31 Isyana Syahira Meida-Rinjani Kwinnara Nastine in Sunday’s final, a rematch of last year’s Guwahati Masters title decider. Meida-Nastine won 21-17, 23-21 in Guwahati and also beat Xin Yee-Carmen 16-21, 21-14, 21-14 in the first round of the Thailand Open in May.
The Indonesians lead their head-to-head record 5-2, including matches at junior level.
Xin Yee-Carmen have twice finished runners-up on the World Tour, having lost to Bulgaria’s Gabriela Stoeva-Stefani Stoeva in the Odisha Masters final last December.
Earlier, world No. 83 Yee Hern-Vannee reached their first World Tour final together after overcoming Taiwan’s world No. 137 Lin Sheng Ming-Sun Liang Ching 21-11, 11-21, 21-8.
The Malaysian fourth seeds also avenged compatriots Wong Tien Ci-Lim Chiew Sien, who were beaten by Sheng Ming-Liang Ching earlier in the tournament.
Yee Hern-Vannee will face South Korea’s Ki Dong Ju-Jeong Na Eun for the title after the Koreans defeated Indonesia’s Jafar Hidayatullah-Rinjani 21-16, 18-21, 21-17.
Na Eun won the mixed doubles silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics with Kim Won Ho, losing to China’s Zheng Si Wei-Huang Ya Qiong in the final. Won Ho now forms the world No. 1 men’s doubles pair with Seo Seung Jae.