Cheam June Wei exits Hylo Open as Lee Zii Jia advances
Kiran George beat the world No. 57 in straight games, while Hoo Pang Ron and Lai Pei Jing also reached the second round.
Cheam June Wei was eliminated in the Hylo Open’s opening round in Saarbrucken, Germany, after India’s Kiran George beat him 21-18, 21-17. Fellow Malaysian Lee Zii Jia and the mixed doubles partnership of Hoo Pang Ron and Lai Pei Jing progressed to round two.
The match at the Saarlandhalle lasted 35 minutes. Cheam, ranked world No. 57, has now lost both his meetings with the world No. 55. Their previous encounter came in qualifying at last year’s Hong Kong Open, where Kiran won 21-14, 21-13.
Cheam’s strongest World Tour results this season were runs to the semi-finals of the Korea Masters, a Super 300 event, in August and the Ruichang China Masters, a Super 100 tournament, in March. He also made the finals at the lower-tier Azerbaijan International and Phuket International Challenge.
At the invitational Lin Dan Cup in China, the independent player claimed his fifth title in August, matching a milestone previously achieved only by China’s Zhao Junpeng.
Cheam’s next event is the Korea Open in Yeosu, scheduled for Nov 3-8. He must get through two qualifying rounds to enter the main draw of the Super 500 tournament.
Lee defeated Singapore’s Teh Jia Heng 21-16, 19-21, 21-17. Hoo and Lai needed 25 minutes to beat Dutch opponents Joep Strooper and Sterre Bang 21-13, 21-13.
