The short answer: Quang Duong won both of Friday’s adult Open titles at the Sabah Open, beating Luke Guansing 15-2 in singles before partnering Bao Duong to a 15-10 doubles final victory. Those championships are decided. The wider tournament at Replay Karamunsing in Kota Kinabalu continues through Monday 9 November.
Duong’s singles figures were emphatic: seven wins, 81 points scored and seven conceded. The three pool matches accounted for only two points against him. He then beat Zacky Soon 11-3, Stefan Walter 11-0 and Linus Teng 11-0 before the final against Guansing.
All of that came on Friday, according to the tournament schedule, and the final was a single game to 15. Guansing had reached it by beating Roger Andrew Lim 11-1; Linus Teng took bronze with a 15-9 win over Lim.
Two titles, different margins
The doubles final was considerably closer. Quang and Bao Duong beat Ng Dickson and Muhammad Zhafree Siddiq Bin Kamarul Zaman 15-10, after an 11-2 semi-final victory over Roman Estareja and Nursharneem Shamsuddin.
The runners-up had beaten Stefan Walter and Shan Danial 11-1 in the other semi-final. Estareja and Shamsuddin subsequently won bronze, defeating Walter and Shan Danial 15-9.
Both titles belong to the tournament’s top adult division, listed on the event information page as 19+ Open Gender Singles and 19+ Open Gender Doubles. The singles draw is open to men and women alike. The novice, intermediate and 35+ competitions at the same venue have their own champions.
Saturday supplied separate champions: Yuma Miyajima and Ryan Fung won U18 junior doubles 15-6; Mohammad Izham Bin Johran and Michelle Tan Shoo Chin won 35+ mixed 15-12; Wong Tsun Khong and Arianto won 35+ men’s doubles 15-9. Each belongs to its own age category.
A local tournament with an international ambition
Baseline lists 315 team entries across 11 categories. The Daily Express’s opening report, republished by Newswav on 6 November, put the field at 538 players, with an RM100,000 prize pool.
At Thursday’s press conference, organising chairman Lamardani Jonaeli said: “We also hope to expand the scale next year — increasing the number of categories beyond the current 11 — to attract even more top players from abroad.” That was a plan for future editions, before Friday’s medals were decided.
The immediate sporting verdict is simpler. Duong conceded two points in the singles final, then faced a much tighter doubles final with Bao. He won both. Sabah’s junior, age-group and novice competitions have their own stories, but the adult Open headline is already settled.
Chris Beaumont
Founder and Editor-in-ChiefChris Beaumont is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of World Pickleball Magazine, published by World Pickleball Media Ltd. He follows the global game closely, reporting on news, developments, stories and tournaments from all five continents. He also hosts the World Pickleball…
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