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.
