Malaysian Pair Kian Meng-Pei Jing Bag Thailand Open Title

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 (Bernama) -- Malaysian mixed doubles pair, Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing have nailed their second title this year when they triumphed in the Thailand Open badminton championship on Sunday. The two players who began pairing late last year put up a credible performance to tame Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong in straight sets, 21-16, 22-20. In the final duel lasting 39 minutes, the second national mixed doubles pair had a shaky start when they trailed 4-7 before gaining their composure to race ahead to 11-7 and took the first set at 21-16. Kian Meng-Pei Jing, ranked 19th in the world, again suffered a poor start in the second set until they were trailing 12-17 to the newly formed Hong Kong pair. The Malaysians who did not want victory to slip away, regained their form and clawed back point by point to 17-17 before racing ahead to win 22-20. The pair had clinched their first title at the Vietnam Open in July although they had reached the final in three other tournaments this year, namely the Malaysian Masters, Poland International Challenge and Taiwan Open. --BERNAMA