KUALA LUMPUR: Shuttler Goh Jin Wei broke a frustrating streak of four first-round exits on the World Tour by earning a hard-fought win over Ukraine's Polina Buhrova, advancing to the last 16 of the Malaysia Masters today (May 22).
Jin Wei, supported by the thunderous cheers from home fans at the Axiata Arena, staved off strong resistance from the world No. 74, securing a 21-16, 18-21, 21-14 victory in 52 minutes.
Playing on home soil certainly made a difference for Jin Wei, as the last time she won a World Tour-level match was at the Malaysia Open.
"It was a good fight from Buhrova, and I have our fans to thank because their cheers inspired me to fight for every point," said the Paris Olympic-bound Jin Wei.
"The home-ground support definitely played a part in today's win."
The win sets up her next encounter against Thailand's world No. 20 Busanan Ongbamrungphan in a clash of two former Sea Games champions.
Busanan was the victor in the 2015 Singapore Sea Games, while Jin Wei succeeded her two years later in Kuala Lumpur.
Busanan advanced after a hard-fought 21-12, 14-21, 21-16 win over Denmark's Line Kjaersfeldt.
The Thai will be looking to win for the second time in Malaysia, having first stolen the limelight in 2012 by emerging as the winner of the then-Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold when she was 16.
Jin Wei acknowledged Busanan as the player to beat, and she will enter the contest as an underdog.
For the record, Jin Wei has never beaten Busanan in their three meetings. The last time the two met was back in 2018.
"I'm looking forward to playing against her again. It's been six years, that's a long time. I have never won even once, and hopefully, the outcome will be different this time," said Jin Wei.
"I'll just have to do my best, and if it's good enough, everything will fall into place."
Meanwhile, another Malaysian shuttler K. Letshanaa was no match for top seed Han Yue of China, going down tamely 21-14, 21-9.