KUALA LUMPUR: Independent men's doubles pair Nur Azriyn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong saw their Malaysia Open campaign end in the second round at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil on Thursday.
World No. 32 Azriyn-Wee Kiong were outclassed by India's world No. 9 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty, the reigning Asian Games champions, in a 21-15, 21-15 defeat.
For the record, Wee Kiong and his former partner, Goh V Shem, were the last local pair to claim the Malaysia Open men's doubles title in 2016. The duo also won silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Azriyn-Wee Kiong admitted they made too many mistakes during their match against the Indian pair.
"We didn't have a good start today and committed unforced errors," said Wee Kiong.
"We will now focus on the India Open."
The pair are aiming for strong performances in upcoming tournaments to earn ranking points needed to qualify for the prestigious All England in March.
While Wee Kiong is a seasoned campaigner at the tournament, it has long been Azriyn's dream to play in Birmingham.
"I have never played in the All England. However, I believe I can achieve it this year with Wee Kiong," said Azriyn.
Azriyn-Wee Kiong will open their India Open campaign next week against Malaysia's world No. 3 Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani.
They must also perform well at the Indonesia Masters from Jan 21-26 to keep their All England hopes alive.
RESULTS
* Malaysians unless stated
Second round:
Men's singles: Shi Yu Qi (Chn) bt Lu Guang Zu (Chn) 21-18, 21-16; Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha) bt Anthony Ginting (Ina) 21-7,21-10; Kodai Naraoka (Jpn) bt Lin Chun Yi (Tai) 21-14, 21-14; Li Shi Feng (Chn) bt H. S. Prannoy (Ind) 21-8, 15-21, 23-21; Anders Antonsen (Den) bt Koki Watanabe (Jpn) 21-23,21-18, 21-14; Chi Yu Jen (Tai) bt Lee Cheuk Yiu (HK) 15-21, 21-14, 21-12; Angus Ng Ka Long (HK) bt Toma Junior Popov (Fra) 23-21, 10-21, 21-17.
Doubles: Lee Fang Chih-Lee Fan Jen (Tai) bt Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik 21-14, 21-18; Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (Mas) bt Jin Yong-Kang Min Hyuk (Kor) 23-21, 16-21, 21-18; Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae bt Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang (Chn) 21-17, 21-16; Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (Mas) bt Lee Jhe Huei-Yang Po Hsuan (Tai) 21-15, 21-13; Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty (Ind) bt Nur Azriyn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong 21-15, 21-15; Christo Popov-Thoma Junior Popov (Fra) bt Daniel Lundgaard-Mads Vestergaard (Den) 7-21, 26-24, 21-13.
Women's singles: Yeo Jia Min (Sin) bt Gao Fang Jie (Chn) 21-14, 21-10; An Se Young (Kor) bt Nguyen Thuy Linh (Vie) 21-15, 21-15; Wang Zhi Yi (Chn) bt Chiu Pin Chian (Tai) 21-17, 21-13; Ratchanok Intanon (Tha) bt Pornpawee Chochuwong (Tha) 21-17, 21-14; Han Yue (Chn) bt Malvika Bansod (Ind) 21-18, 21-11.
Doubles: Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning (Chn) bt Vian Hoo-Lim Chiew Sien 21-6, 21-5; Li Yi Jing-Luo Xu Min (Chn) bt Benyapa Aimsaard-Nuntakarn Aimsaard (Tha) 11-21, 21-16, 21-7; Jia Yi Fan-Zhang Shu Xian (Chn) bt Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand (Ind) 15-21, 21-18, 21-19; Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto (Jpn) bt Kim Hye Jeong-Kong Hee Yong (Kor) 21-19, 21-17; Misaki Matsutomo-Chiharu Shida (Jpn) bt Sung Shuo Yun-Yu Chien Hui (Tai) 21-16, 21-13.
Mixed doubles: Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping (Chn) bt Alexander Dunn-Julie MacPherson (Sco) 21-11, 21-10; Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue (Fra) bt Guo Xin Wa-Chen Fang Hui (Chn) 18-21, 21-12, 22-20; Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei (Mas) bt Ming Che Lu-Hung En Tzu (Tai) 21-8, 21-14; Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi (Chn) bt Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto (Ind) 21-13, 22-20; Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran (Tha) bt Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin (Chn) 21-14, 21-19; Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai bt K. Sathish Kumar-Aadya Variyath (Ind) 21-10, 21-17; Hiroki Midorikawa-Natsu Saito (Jpn) bt Dejan Ferdinansyah-Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja (Ina) 21-17, 21-17.