Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen on Tuesday opened the season with a 2-0 victory over compatriot Lin Chun-yi to advance to the last 16 of the men’s singles at the Malaysia Open.
World No. 6 Chou swept the world No. 12 Lin 21-14, 21-12 in 40 minutes to secure his first win of the year and his third straight victory over Lin. Chou now holds a 5-2 head-to-head advantage against Lin.
The two traded the lead in the first game before tying at 14, when the 35-year-old Chou pulled off a decisive 7-0 run — his longest scoring streak of the match — to secure a 1-0 lead.
Photo: AFP
Chou appeared to take control of the match, never trailing Lin in Game 2. Last tied at five, he remained ahead and rattled off another seven straight points after taking a 14-12 lead to close out the match.
The last time Lin defeated Chou was in the final of the Super 300-level Swiss Open in late March 2024.
Chou did not celebrate Tuesday’s win, saying it was just one match.
“I still have a lot of room to improve,” he said.
It was the second consecutive edition of the Super 1000 tournament in which Chou faced off against a Taiwanese player in the opening round. He was eliminated in the quarter-finals of last year’s edition by China’s world No. 1 Shi Yuqi.
Chou, who is seeking his first-ever semi-final appearance at the Malaysia Open, is today to face world No. 14 Kenta Nishimoto of Japan, against whom he holds a 10-6 career head-to-head advantage.
In other Tuesday matches, Chen Cheng-kuan and Hsu Yin-hui bested Denmark’s Mads Vestergaard and Christine Busch 21-19, 19-21, 21-17 in the mixed doubles opener, while seventh seeds Hsieh Pei-shan and Hung En-tzu beat compatriots Lin Xiao-min and Wang Yu-qiao 21-15, 21-17.
Yesterday, Hsu and Lin Jhin-yun defeated Canada’s Jackie Dent and Crystal Lai 23-21, 23-21 in women’s doubles, while Chen Zhi-ray and Lin Yu-chieh topped French brothers Christo Popov and Toma Junior Popov 19-21, 21-17, 21-13.
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