Heads held high for Noraqilah-Zi Yu despite Australian Open exit

PETALING JAYA: Teenage women’s doubles pair Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan-Low Zi Yu may have fallen short of a semi-final berth at the Australian Open, but they can take pride in reaching the quarter-finals of a World Tour Super 500 event for the first time.

The world No 84 pair saw their impressive run in Sydney end against Indonesia’s world No 15 duo, Fabriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Meilysa Trias Puspitasari, who beat them 21-13, 21-17 in 43 minutes.

Noraqilah, 19, and Zi Yu, 15, have emerged as one of Malaysia’s most promising young partnerships, and their run to the quarter-finals was particularly impressive given that it came in only their second Super 500 tournament.

Noraqilah-Zi Yu have shown they can compete with the world’s best after stunning world No 7 Japanese pair Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi in the Uber Cup finals in April, before upsetting Taiwan’s world No 8 pair Hsieh Pei Shan and Hung En Tzu in the opening round of the Australian Open.

Last month, they also reached their first World Tour final at the China Masters Super 100, finishing runners-up to a home pair.

Meanwhile, singles player Justin Hoh’s bid for a maiden Super 500 semi-final place also ended in the last-eight at the Australian Open.

Justin, ranked world No 47, lost 7-21, 15-21 to Indonesia’s world No 35 player Zaki Ubaidillah in 35 minutes.

Despite the defeat, it was a career-best result for Justin, who marked his first quarter-final appearance at a Super 500 tournament.