Kong Wei Xiang from the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) delivered what was expected when he breezed through to the Round of 64 of the Men’s Singles PETRONAS National U18 Championships 2025 at the Perak Badminton Academy Hall today.
The Penang-born top seed, who was a consistent performer at last year’s Junior Elite Tour, once again showed his desire for consistency when he picked up from where he left off yesterday to show that he holds the best odds for the title this year.
The 17-year-old had dispatched Cavan Tan Kai En from Penang 15-6, 15-7 in the Round of 128 yesterday.
And today in the Round of 64, Wei Xiang shut down the challenge of Chiam Zi Yi from Johor 15-7, 15-4 in 22 minutes.
Wei Xiang’s opponent tomorrow will be the unheralded Beh Yu Wei from Selangor, who has three wins from three matches played thus far.
Yesterday, the 18-year-old Yu Wei had beaten Rames Meethiran from Johor (15-6, 15-7) and then turned the tables on 17th/32nd ranked Zubair Izhar from Perlis (15-6, 15-9).
And today, Yu Wei sidestepped the challenge of Terengganu’s Amirul Hakimi Ahmad Muslim 15-10, 15-5.
In the meantime, over at the other half of the table, Arshdip Singh Darshan Singh from Selangor showed his credentials for this year’s title when he booked his place in the Round of 32 tomorrow.
After a bye in the First Round, Arshdip snuffed out the challenge of second-seeded Kee Is Qian from Kedah yesterday evening (15-7, 14-16, 15-13) that took almost an hour to complete.
However, in the Round of 64 today, it was back to work for Arshdip with a methodical 15-7, 15-6 win over Choong Zhuo Hao from Perak.
On the other hand, Arshdip’s challenge in the Mixed Doubles alongside partner Eva Tan Ann Qi did not quite take off when they fell to Tan Hon Xuan-Neoh Rui En from Penang today.
Despite taking the first set 15-13, Arshdip-Eva could not quite keep up the momentum when they allowed Hon Xuan-Rui En to take the next two sets 15-13, 15-11.
ENDS
