Dwi Wardoyo emerges after slew of withdrawals at Malaysia Masters
Promoted from qualifiers Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo of Indonesia took advantage of the withdrawals that occurred in the men’s singles of the 2022 Malaysia Masters to win his first BWF tournament since 2021.
Dwi Wardoyo defeated eighth seed Ng Ka Long of Hong Kong, 22-20, 21-15, in the final to claim his first singles championship since the Indonesia International in 2018. He was part of the squad that won the BWF Thomas Cup Finals 2020 title last year. His best performance this season prior to this tourney was to reach the third-round finish of the 2022 Orléans Masters.
The 45th-ranked right-hander’s campaign in this Super 500 event eclipsed the news that greeted the week. Nearly half of the seeded players in the men’s singles draw withdrew for various reasons. These include Viktor Axelsen and Andres Antonsen of Denmark and Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia.
Nevertheless, seeded players came out on top in their respective events.
Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong of China continue to reap more accolades. They beat Rinov Rivaldy and Pitha Haningtyas Mentari of Indonesia, 21-17, 21-12, to garner their fifth BWF World Tour trophy this season.
Another duo from China, Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan, bagged the women’s doubles crown. They won in fashion over Matsuyama Nami and Shida Chiharu of Japan, 21-11, 21-12, for their fourth title this year, including the 2022 Badminton Asia Championships.
Meanwhile, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto prevailed in the all-Indonesian men’s doubles final. They clamped the higher-seeded pair of Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan, 21-12, 21-19.
This is their second Super 500 diadem, and third overall, this year.
Finally, it was a BWF Uber Cup Finals 2022 rematch for the women’s singles top prize. An Se-young of South Korea repeated on Chen Yufei of China, 21-17, 21-5, to clinch her tenth career BWF Tour first-place finish.
Up next this week is the 2022 Singapore Open from July 12-17.
Author Details
JP is an all-around sportswriter who covered the Bingo Bonanza Philippine Gold Grand Prix 2009. Aside from BWF badminton he follows football, basketball, and pro wrestling.
