KUALA LUMPUR: National mixed doubles shuttler Cheng Su Yin is thrilled and nervous about making her maiden appearance in the Malaysia Open badminton championships at the Axiata Arena from Jan 7-12.

Su Yin, who will partner Hoo Pang Ron, has promised to give her best and try to go as far as they possibly can in the opening event of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour 2025.

“Definitely excited and hope we can play better and maintain our performance.

“The other pairs would have read our game by now, so we need to raise our performance,” said the 21-year-old Su Yin during the national team training session at Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara.

Pang Ron and Su Yin, who were paired up in November 2023, qualified for the 2025 Malaysia Open after finishing 21st in the world rankings. (Only the top 32 pairs qualify for the tournament).

The pair managed to achieve their best-ever position in the world rankings following a series of positive results in several tournaments this year, including finishing as runners-up in the China Masters in November.

Pang Ron, meanwhile, said that he and Su Yin aim to get into the world’s top 10 next year.

He feels that it’s not an impossible mission, although he admits they will have to put in the hard yards to achieve that.

“I think it’s possible but I feel, maybe, we are not there yet. We still need some time because you cannot go from zero to 100 in just a short period.

“So, we hope we go step by step and take it one match at a time. If we fight hard and get the desired results, then the ranking will take care of itself,” he said. — Bernama