KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 (Bernama) -- The hopes of two national mixed doubles pairs to progress further in the All England 2026 campaign were dashed after they were eliminated in straight sets as early as the first round at the Utilita Arena Birmingham, today.
National professional pair Jimmy Wong-Lai Pei Jing, who opened Malaysia's challenge, had to concede to the prowess of Taiwanese pair, Ye Hong Wei-Nicole Gonzales Chan, losing 17-21, 18-21 within 36 minutes, marking the second time Jimmy-Pei Jing have lost to the same pair following the 2025 Japan Masters.
Facing a similar fate was another national mixed doubles pair, Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin, who lost for the second consecutive time in three meetings to the Indian duo, Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto. In a match that lasted 41 minutes and though the world number 23 pair started well, they failed to maintain consistency before falling 17-21, 19-21.
Meanwhile, attention is now focused on four other Malaysian representatives who will begin their respective campaigns early tomorrow morning, Malaysian time: top national mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei, men's doubles pairs Choong Hon Jian-Muhammad Haikal Nazri and Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi, as well as national men's singles player Leong Jun Hao.
The All England 2026 tournament is scheduled to run until this Sunday (March 8).
-- BERNAMA
