Day one of the CROWNE PLAZA Northern Marianas Open saw players from across the globe take to the court for the men’s singles round of 64.
In the first match of the day, Riki Takei (JPN) took the early lead against Australia’s Jack Yu. The Australian fought hard, but struggled to control the match. Capitalising on Yu’s mistakes, Takei continuously applied pressure throughout to come away with an impressive 21-11, 21-14 win over the Oceania Men’s Singles Champion.
VICTOR Oceania MS Runner Up, Edward Lau (NZL) found himself behind following the first game against Japan’s Toma Noda. In the second game, Noda once again took the early lead, garnering a substantial lead. Towards the latter stages of the match, Lau established his presence on the court, choosing clever shots to keep his opponent on the back foot. However, this surge came too late for Lau. The gap was too big, and Noda managed to close the game out, winning the match 21-12, 21-18.
The battle between Choi Jihoon (KOR) and Samuel Lee (MAS) lived up to all expectations. Early in the first game, Lee looked poised to dominate the match. Yet, when Choi had the opportunity to smash, he was dangerous.
The Korean’s confidence and composure grew as the match progressed, and despite going down 21-18 in the first game, he powered to the second game 21-16. Despite this, the third game still looked to be anyone’s game early on. In the end, it was Choi who emerged victorious, scoring a spree of points to pull away with the win 21-12.
Tu Hsin Tse (TPE) and Kim Byung Jae (KOR) had another close match. The Korean finished on the podium at the Northern Marianas International in June and quickly fell into a rhythm back on Saipan’s courts. Cruising to an early lead, Tu was forced to adapt. Slowly, the Chinese Taipei player was able to reduce the deficit but could not stop Kim’s attacks. Kim won the first and second games in the same way to take the match 21-18, 21-19.
Mai Yi (TPE) and Cho Hyeon Woo (KOR) battled it out in the second-to-last match of the day. Mai competed in the Northern Marianas International earlier this year, but this was Cho’s 2025 international debut. The two were inseparable throughout the entire first game. Trading the lead continuously, it was impossible to predict the winner for most of the game. With a score of 22-20, it was Cho who came away with the game win. This seemed to give Cho more confidence, and he powered to an early lead in the second. He finished the match with a second game win of 21-8 to secure his spot in the round of 32 tomorrow.
