Upsets Rock Panas Malaysia Cup 2025 Opening as Marco Leung, Huang Siang Wen Stun Higher Seeds
Day 1 of the Panas Malaysia Cup 2025 delivered, with top-notch play from locals and foreigners alike to thrilling matches that pushed players to their limit to stunners that saw lower seeds upset higher seeds. All that happened in just the first day of PPA Tour Asia’s return to Malaysia.
Marco Leung Stuns Grayson Goldin
The day’s biggest stunner came courtesy of PPA Asia Trailblazer Marco Leung, who pulled off a career-defining victory against second seed Grayson Goldin. Leung and Goldin looked evenly matched in the match that went the distance, with the Trailblazer ultimately grinding out a 2-1 (11-9, 10-12, 11-9) victory that no doubt sent shockwaves through the Men’s Singles draw.
The lower-seeded Leung from Macau won the first game by the narrowest of margins but dropped an equally tight second game. He refused to fold, though, and battled Goldin in a decider that saw both players trading big shot after big shot until Leung found another gear at the finish line to close out the biggest upset of his career. He will next meat Vietnam’s Hien Truong, who was also involved in what would’ve been the day’s most gigantic upset (more on that later).
Huang Hsiang Wen Gets Better of Hannah Blatt
Women’s Singles also saw a stunner on Day 1, with Chinese Taipei’s Huang Hsiang Wen delivering her own upset win over fourth-seeded Hannah Blatt via a tight 2-1 (10-12, 12-10, 13-11) marathon that pushed both players to their limits.
Down in the opener, Wen clawed back to force a decider where neither player could make headway—until Wen came up clutch in the end to finally upend Blatt and send her home. The Taiwanese pro will meet Andie Dikosavljevic in the quarterfinals.
Sahra Dennehy Makes It to Quarters in Three Categories
Meanwhile, Australia’s Sahra Dennehy emerged as Thursday’s biggest winner, punching her ticket to all three quarter-finals. After dropping the opening game to third seed Liz Truluck, Dennehy roared back for a 2-1 (7-11, 11-9, 11-6) comeback victory.
She wasn’t done there as she later teamed with Santhosh Narayanan in Mixed Doubles to complete a perfect sweep of the North Americans by defeating Blatt and Goldin, 2-1 (7-11, 11-8, 11-3). Dennehy completed her Day 1 trifecta by partnering with Japan’s Aiko Yoshitomi to stun the powerhouse pairing of China’s Yufei Long and Chinese-American Xiao Yi Wang-Beckvall, 2-0 (11-9, 11-1).
Ben Johns, Christian Alshon Encounter Rough Sailing
Even Ben Johns and first-time partner Christian Alshon weren’t immune to the day’s drama as they got pushed to the limit in their opener against Vietnamese duo Hien Truong and Quan Do. After cruising 11-0 in the first game, Johns and Alshon suddenly found themselves in a dogfight, eventually escaping 2-1 (11-0, 9-11, 11-8) as the crowd rallied behind the underdogs. Johns and Alshon will next take on Vanshik Kapadia and Robert Nunnery.
Johns found smoother sailing in Mixed Doubles, securing a straight-games victory alongside Anna Bright. Next up for them will be the duo of Armaan Bhatia, one of India’s top players, and Liz Truluck.
