Beh Lee Wei of Malaysia in action yesterday. (AFP)
AFP/Glasgow
Singapore’s world number four Feng Tianwei reached the quarter-finals of the women’s singles at the Commonwealth Games yesterday but was pushed all the way by Australia’s Zhenhua Dederko.
The reigning champion and top seed, 27, beat the world 161 in five games, after losing the second 11-7.
Second seed Yu Mengyu, who is ranked 10 in the world, lost the first game of her third round match against India’s Shamani Kumaresan.
But she responded to battle her way through, winning the next four games 11-5, 16-14, 11-4, 11-9 to reach the last eight.
With partner Li Hu, Yu, seeded third, had earlier suffered a surprise defeat in the mixed doubles fourth round, with a 3-0 defeat to England’s 11th seeds Danny Reed and Kelly Sibley in the fourth round.
Reed said: “We’re absolutely buzzing. We weren’t expected to win as they’re a top-four team.
“We put a lot of work into training over the past month so for it to come together like this, that’s all that hard work worth it.
“We were positive and got the tactics spot on. Once we got the lead we carried the momentum on and didn’t let them in.
“We played around with different styles. It’s important to feel good together. You don’t always click if both players are really good players. It’s something you just have to try out.
“Often those not good physically but with a good touch can get away with it in doubles, playing close to the net.”
Feng and Yu combined in the women’s doubles to secure a simple 3-0 win over Scotland’s Corinna Whitaker and Lynda Flaws to reach the third round.
On a busy morning, Feng and Zhan Jian also won their mixed doubles fourth round match against Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna and Olufunke Oshonaike 3-0.
With Singapore’s other doubles teams all progressing, third seed Lin Ye will meet India’s Manika Batra in the quarter-finals.
Batra overcame Yu in the semi-finals of the team event, Singapore’s first-ever loss in the competition, and is feeling confident as she heads into the last eight after beating Canada’s Anqi Luo 4-2.
She said: “It was good, but I was not my best. I was playing in pressure. I was thinking ‘I have to win, I have to win’. If someone is better than me then I can play without pressure.
“The Games are going great for me, but in the singles I have to reach the semis or the finals.”
In the quarter-finals, Feng meets Beh Lee Wei of Malaysia, Wales’ Nicola Owen faces Lay Jian Feng of Australia and Yu meets Canada’s Mo Zhang.