HYLO Open 2026: Tai-King Stun Top Seeds to QF

Unseeded Arctic Open Champions Edge Gutama-Isfahani 22-20, 21-19; Two Malaysian Pairs Reach Friday’s Quarter-Finals While Zii Jia Falls to Naraoka and Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting Lose a 22-20 Decider

Two Malaysian pairs reached the quarter-finals of the Hylo Open in Saarbrücken on Thursday, with Aaron Tai-Yap Roy King beating the top seeds and Hoo Pang Ron-Lai Pei Jing beating the fourth seeds. Lee Zii Jia and the women’s doubles pair of Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting went out in the Round of 16. The results come from the Shuttlehard Malaysia poster.

Aaron Tai and Yap Roy King beat Indonesia’s top seeds Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Muhammad Reza Pahlevi Isfahani 22-20, 21-19. Both games were close, and the Malaysians took both. They are playing only their fourth tournament together and have climbed 276 places in four weeks, from No. 350.

Roy King has history against the Indonesians. He and Junaidi Arif lost to them in the 2024 Spain Masters final, then beat them 22-20, 21-18 in the final of the 2025 Macau Open. The unseeded pair next face either Taiwan’s fifth seeds Chiu Hsiang Chieh-Wang Chi-Lin or the French duo Natan Begga-Gregoire Deschamp.

Hoo Pang Ron and Lai Pei Jing beat Taiwan’s fourth seeds Yang Po-Hsuan-Hu Ling Fang 21-9, 21-16. The match took 25 minutes. The Malaysians, French Open runners-up last Sunday, have now won both of their matches in Saarbrücken in straight games.

They next face Hong Kong’s seventh seeds Chan Yin Chak-Ng Tsz Yau, who beat Wei Hsuan-Yi-Yang Chu Yu 20-22, 21-18, 21-19, in the quarter-finals tomorrow.

Lee Zii Jia’s run ended against Japan’s fifth seed Kodai Naraoka, who won 11-21, 21-13, 14-21. It took 63 minutes, and the result puts Naraoka ahead 4-3 in their head-to-head. The Malaysian showed fight after losing the first game heavily by taking the second 21-13, but Naraoka took control of the decider.

He had come into the match after fighting through illness in his opening win over Teh Jia Heng.

The Arctic Open semi-final remains the only time this year he has gone deep into a tournament, as he was eliminated in the early rounds of every other event.

Ong Xin Yee and Carmen Ting lost to Hong Kong’s eighth seeds Yeung Nga Ting-Yeung Pui Lam 16-21, 21-11, 20-22. They lost the first game, dominated the second 21-11 and went to the wire in the third before losing 20-22. The result meant they missed a chance at a second quarter-final of the year.

Credit Photo : Screenshot