PETALING JAYA: National singles shuttler Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin progressed to the second round of the Hong Kong Open today after stunning Taiwan’s Chi Yu Jen in a hard-fought opening round match that lasted over an hour.
Aidil, ranked world No 43, came from a game down to defeat Yu Jen 15-21, 21-18, 21-15 in the 62-minute match at the Hong Kong Coliseum.
This came soon after his compatriot Justin Hoh staged a similar upset by defeating a higher-ranked French player, Toma Junior Popov.
Aidil and Yu Jen have won one match each in their two encounters so far.
A tough second-round tie awaits the Malaysian as he will meet world No 10 French shuttler Christo Popov tomorrow.