Loh Ziheng was in splendid form when he swept to two semifinals of the PETRONAS Malaysia International Series 2025 here at the Indoor Arena Educity Sports Complex in Johor.
First, alongside partner Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan, the pair of 18-year-olds were triumphant in their quarterfinal clash against the Korean pair of Park Seung-min and Kim Yu-jung.
In the duel that lasted just over an hour, the fourth-seeded Ziheng-Noraqilah proved that they had not strayed from their win of the PETRONAS National U18 National Championships earlier this year, when they stayed in sight to take the 21-13, 26-28, 21-10 victory.
Their opponent in the semifinals tomorrow would be another Korean pair, Kim Jae-hyeon-Jang Eun-seo.
The sixth-seeded Jae-hyeon-Eun-soo took just 18 minutes to overcome second-seeded Pham Van Truong-Bui Bich Phuong from Vietnam, 21-8, 21-10.
Then, in the Menâs Doubles, alongside partner Datu Anif Isaac Datu Asrah, Ziheng made his way to a second semifinal appearance tomorrow.
It was another prolonged engagement for Ziheng and Datu Anif, who were unranked, as they faced the third-seeded duo of Jonathan Farrell Gosal-Adrian Pratama from Indonesia.
Conceding an 18-21 loss in the first set, Ziheng-Datu Anif rebounded in the second set 21-19 before wrapping up the game and match 21-12 in 48 minutes.
It will be an all-Malaysia affair in one-half of the semifinals tomorrow, with Ziheng-Datu Anif set to be fully tested against the tournament top seed Muhammad Faiq Masawi and Lok Hong Quan.
Muhammad Faiq-Hong Quan, who won the Malaysia International Junior Challenge last year, were hardly tested in their first two matches of the tournament in Johor.
However, the quarterfinals would be different, as the Indonesian pair of Gilang Krisandi Toyo Pramana and Erwin Rendana Purnomo were not giving up any quarters and certainly made it challenging for the Malaysians.
The unheralded Gilang-Erwin took the first set 21-17 to force Muhammad Faiq-Hong Quan to raise the level of their game.
After taking the second set 21-17, Muhammad Faiq-Hong Quan then made sure of their place in the semifinals, 21-18.
