Angus Ng falls short in Malaysia Masters final, looks ahead to Singapore Open
- Dwi Wardoyo, who defeated Lee Cheuk-yiu in round one of the tournament, was firmly in control and never gave Ng a chance to come back
- The Hong Kong team now looks ahead to next week’s Singapore Open, where Ng will meet Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the first round
Angus Ng Ka-long fell short in his first final in 18 months after losing to Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo of Indonesia at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
After dropping out of the world’s top 10 in late March, Ng looked to have regained some of his best form in the US$360,000 tournament as he went all the way through until the last hurdle when he lost in straight games 22-20, 21-15 in 45 minutes.
The first game was crucial as Ng had every chance to draw first blood, but he was caught by Dwi Wardoyo in the final stages after leading 17-15 and 19-18 respectively and narrowly lost after deuce.
Fuelled by the success, Dwi Wardoyo, who also defeated Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk-yiu in the first round of the tournament, was firmly in control of the second game and never gave Ng any chance to come back.
The Indonesian quickly built a 17-11 lead before extending his advantage to 20-12 and Ng struggled to save the match. It would have been Ng’s first title since winning the Thailand Masters in 2020.
Despite the defeat, head coach Tim He Yiming was delighted to see his charge showing glimpse of his skills that once earned him a world number six ranking.
“The most important thing is that Ng should have his confidence back after this tournament,” He said.
