Taipei Open: Low Ranking, High Impact
Teenagers Low Zi Yu and Noraqilah Maisarah produced another upset in their budding careers on Thursday.
· PREM KUMAR
Just a few months after stunning world No.7 pair Rin Iwanaga/Kie Nakanishi at the Uber Cup, Low and Maisarah toppled world No.11s and third seeds Hsu Yin Hui/Lin Jhih Yun 20-22 21-13 21-11 to storm into the YONEX Taipei Open 2026 quarterfinals.
Ranked 67th in the world – 56 places below their experienced opponents – the Malaysians displayed remarkable composure to recover from the disappointment of letting a game point slip at 20-19 in the opener before taking charge of the next two.
It marked another milestone for the pair, who reached the last eight for the second time in only their third HSBC BWF World Tour tournament, having also made the Australian Open quarterfinals last month.