WANG EYES TRIPLE CROWN AS ALL TOP SEEDS MARCH INTO CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY FINALS
| May 16, 2026
Chao Yi Wang is one day away from history. The world No.7 booked her place in all three finals at the Panas Kuala Lumpur Open 2026 after a clean sweep on semifinal Saturday. A Women’s Singles, Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles gold on Championship Sunday would make her the first woman to complete the triple crown on PPA Tour Asia, and the second player ever after Connor Garnett at the Sansan Fukuoka Open 2025.
In Women’s Singles, Wang cruised past Albie Huang 11-7, 11-4. Women’s Doubles was a tougher affair. She and Alix Truong were pickled on the way to the final, dropping the second game 0-11 to Kara Wheatley and Nok Yiu tang before rallying to take the decider 11-7. In Mixed Doubles, she and Len Yang closed the door on Ting Chieh Wei and Armaan Bhatia 11-6, 11-6. Three events. Three finals. One more day.
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While a triple crown on the cards, perhaps the Women’s Singles will be on Wang’s mind the most. She’s still chasing her first singles gold in Asia. She took silver at the Vibrant Linping Hangzhou Open and bronze at the Panas Malaysia Cup in 2025. The title so far has eluded her. Standing in her way is qualifier Pei-Chuan Kao, whose previous best result was a quarterfinal exit at the MB Hanoi Cup 2026. Wang is ranked No.7 in the world meanwhile Kao is standing at No.76.
Hatakeyama makes history for Japan
Nasa Hatakeyama’s run from qualifying to the Men’s Singles final could very well be the story of the tournament. The Japanese player beat Wil Shaffer 11-4, 11-5 in the semifinals to lock in Japan’s first ever Men’s Singles medal on PPA Tour Asia.
He knocked out #2 seed Hong Kit Wong in the Round of 16. He beat #7 seed Zane Navratil in the quarterfinals. Now he’s guaranteed at least silver. From qualifier to finalist with two seeds taken out along the way. Currently ranked No.109 in the world, he’ll face #1 seed and world No.18 Hien Truong in the final in a first-time encounter. It’s a case of the ultimate underdog against the top dog.
Truong got to the championship match without dropping a single game. Today he dispatched Hung Anh 11-5, 11-3 in the semifinals. This is his third Men’s Singles final in Asia after two silvers at the MB Vietnam Cup 2025 and MB Hanoi Cup 2026. The top step has been close but never his.
All #1 seeds reach the final
Across the entire tournament, every #1 seed made the final. It is the first time that this has happed has happened in PPA Tour Asia’s short history. Hien Truong in Men’s Singles. Wang in Women’s Singles. Bhatia and Shimabukuro in Men’s Doubles. Truong and Wang in Women’s Doubles. Shimabukuro and Truong in Mixed Doubles. Leaders of the pack enter the final day still sticking to the script.
Championship Sunday finals at a glance
Men’s Singles: Hien Truong vs Nasa Hatakeyama. The #1 seed hasn’t dropped a game all tournament. The qualifier has knocked out two seeds on his way to Japan’s first ever Men’s Singles medal. World No.18 vs world No.109. First-time encounter.
Women’s Singles: Chao Yi Wang vs Pei-Chuan Kao. Wang chasing her first singles gold and the triple crown. Kao came through qualifying and has never medaled on PPA Tour Asia. World No.7 vs world No.76.
Women’s Doubles: Alix Truong and Chao Yi Wang vs Yufei Long and Ting Chieh Wei. Two title-winning partnerships head to head. Truong and Wang took the Vibrant Linping Hangzhou Open gold. Long and Wei took theirs at the Sansan Fukuoka Open. Wei leads the Women’s Doubles medal ladder with three golds and a silver.
Men’s Doubles: Armaan Bhatia and Tama Shimabukuro vs Len Yang and Collin Johns. First-time partnership for Bhatia and Shimabukuro. Bhatia has two silvers from full-distance finals but no gold. Shimabukuro is in his first Asia final after losing two bronze medal playoffs. Yang won gold at the Hong Kong Open with Thomas Yu.
Mixed Doubles: Tama Shimabukuro and Alix Truong vs Len Yang and Chao Yi Wang. Truong leads the Mixed Doubles medal ladder with two golds and two bronze. Wang lost to Truong in the MB Hanoi Cup final and will be looking for revenge on Championship Sunday.
Championship Sunday gets underway at 9Pickle with the bronze medal playoff matches kicking off at 8am (GMT+8) with the finals starting not before 1pm (GMT+8). Check out all the semifinal results here.
