OLD GUARD ON TOP AS KUALA LUMPUR OPENS WITH UPSETS AND HOME SOIL DRAMA
| May 13, 2026
Qualifying and the round of 32 delivered early drama at the Panas Kuala Lumpur Open 2026, with cross-season UPA Asia Trailblazer clashes producing a clean sweep for the originals and a shock doubles exit for one of the biggest names in the draw.
Old guard, new statement
Three times in Men’s Singles on the opening day of action, Season 1 Trailblazers collided with Season 2 alumni. Three times, Season 1 came out on top.
In the all-Malaysian clash, Jimmy Liong beat fellow home soil hopeful Syed Uzair Sufi 11-3, 12-10. Liong lost the bronze medal playoff on these same 9Pickle courts at the Panas Malaysia Open 2025, and the sting of that near-miss hasn’t faded. He’s now the last Malaysian standing in the Men’s Singles draw, carrying the home crowd’s hopes and looking for the podium finish that went astray last season.
2025 Trailblazer alumni Aryaan Bhatia needed a moment to find his feet against Season 2 Rising Star Timothy Foo, dropping the first game 10-12 before flipping the script entirely. He ran away with games two and three 11-2, 11-2 to advance comfortably.
FOLLOW TOURNAMENT ACTION
Season 2 Trailblazer Colin Wong’s exit came at the hands of Marco Leung, who took down the Malaysian 11-7, 11-5 in the Round of 32. It was a tough result for Wong on home soil, though he did salvage something from the day. He and Estareja advanced in Men’s Doubles with an 11-8, 11-9 win over Vietnamese pair Hoan/Anh. It was a win to take note of. That same Vietnamese duo produced one of the biggest shocks of the day elsewhere in the Men’s Doubles draw, knocking out Zane Navratil and Mitchell Hargreaves in the qualifying quarterfinals 11-7, 14-12. Navratil holds a Men’s Doubles silver and bronze from his Cup appearances in Asia, but with a different partner in Kuala Lumpur the American couldn’t find his footing.
Sawaki flips the script in qualifying
Japanese teenager Kei Sawaki delivered one of the standout results of the day. The 15-year-old came from a game down to beat Pei-Yu Lai 4-11, 11-3, 12-10 in the Women’s Singles qualifying, booking her spot in the Round of 32.
It was a full reversal of their previous meeting. At the Panas Malaysia Open 2025, Lai beat Sawaki 11-7, 11-7 in qualifying without dropping a sweat. This time, Sawaki absorbed a lopsided first game, dominated the second and held her nerve in a 12-10 decider to flip the head-to-head.
Across the board
Hien Truong looked sharp in Mixed Doubles, pairing with Huynh to demolish Azhar/Shaharudin 11-3, 11-4. The Vietnamese star enters as the No.1 seed in Men’s Singles and showed no signs of rust.
Nguyen Hung Anh pulled off one of the better Men’s Singles results, coming back from a game down to beat American Jace Morris 7-11, 13-11, 11-6. The Vietnamese qualifier won three straight matches on the day to reach the Round of 32.
Nasa Hatakeyama was equally dominant through qualifying, dropping just seven points across two matches before beating Hsieh Chen-An 11-7, 12-10 in the Round of 32.
Seeds enter Thursday’s Action
The round of 16 kicks off at 8am (GMT+8) on Thursday, with the seeds in action for the first time. Tama Shimabukuro’s triple crown bid, Hien Truong’s No.1 seed defense in Men’s Singles and the projected superteam clashes in Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles are all set to take shape.
