THREE SEEDS DOWN: MEN’S SINGLES DRAW BLOWN OPEN
| May 14, 2026
Three of the top four Men’s Singles seeds were eliminated on Day 2 at the Panas Kuala Lumpur Open 2026, with qualifiers, dark horses and a home soil hero rewriting the bracket across a dramatic round of 16.
And then there was one
The #2 seed and five-time singles medalist Hong Kit Wong fell to Nasa Hatakeyama 11-8, 7-11, 5-11 to open up the bottom half of the bracket. The Japanese player’s upset continued his dominant run through the draw after storming out of qualifying on Day 1. However, it wasn’t all high notes for the Japanese contingent, as #4 seed Kenta Miyoshi was eliminated by local star Jimmy Liong who defended his home turf 11-6, 4-11, 11-4.
Perhaps the biggest shock came as #3 seed Tama Shimabukuro fell at his first hurdle. The 15-year-old American who recently reached the Men’s Singles final at the Veolia Atlanta Slam in the USA, was defeated by Vietnamese qualifier Nguyen Hung Anh 11-7, 5-11, 11-9. It was a marathon match with Anh sending Shimabukuro to full stretch around the court and out of the draw.
That leaves Hien Truong as the only seed out of the top four still standing. The #1 seed showed exactly why he leads the pack, dismantling Marco Leung 11-3, 11-4 in a statement performance and keeping his hopes of a maiden singles gold alive.
FOLLOW TOURNAMENT ACTION
The triple crown bid may be over for Shimabukuro, but his top-dog status in the doubles events remains defended. Teaming up with Armaan Bhatia, he cruised through the Men’s Doubles Round of 16 with an 11-5, 11-5 win over Maleganeas/Chung, while in Mixed Doubles, he and Alix Truong came back from an 0-11 first game to Huynh/Hien Truong to sweat out a 0-11, 11-6, 11-9 win.
Wang survives Sawaki scare
Japanese teen Kei Sawaki, fresh off her qualifying comeback against Lai, drew the toughest possible assignment in the Round of 16: #1 seed and world No.7 Chao Yi Wang. Sawaki took the first game 11-5, lost the second 6-11 and pushed the decider to 9-11. A 15-year-old qualifier within two points of the biggest upset of the tournament.
Kei Sawaki (left) and Chao Yi Wang (right) meet at the net after a tough full-distance encounter.
From qualifier to almost breaking a Top 10 player in the space of 24 hours. It was a tough loss, but the kind of performance that will have future opponents on their toes.
While eliminated from singles, Sawaki’s tournament lives on through Women’s Doubles. Paired with Xiao Yi Wang-Beckvall, the Japanese teenager beat Ho Tam and past Asia silver medalist Sarah Burr in three (11-5, 9-11, 11-6).
Be sure to catch the quarterfinal as it kicks off Friday morning at 8am (GMT+8). Check out all the results from Day 2 action here.
