Day 2 of the Panas Kuala Lumpur Open 2026 turned the Men's Singles draw on its head. Three of the top four seeds were sent packing in a round of 16 that delivered upsets, hometown drama, and one very composed number one who reminded everyone why he's at the top of the rankings.
Three Upsets in a Day
#2 seed Hong Kit Wong, the five-time singles medalist, was taken down by Japan's Nasa Hatakeyama in three tight games, 11-8, 7-11, 5-11. Hatakeyama had already been turning heads after storming through qualifying on Day 1, and he carried that momentum straight into the main draw's round of 16. The bottom half of the bracket is now wide open.
On the other side of the Japanese contingent's fortunes, #4 seed Kenta Miyoshi ran into something he couldn't handle: home court advantage. Local favourite Jimmy Liong made the crowd roar with an 11-6, 4-11, 11-4 victory, defending Malaysian soil with authority. Liong advances, and the 9Pickle crowd has a hero to cheer for deep into the week.
The most surprising exit, though, may belong to #3 seed Tama Shimabukuro. The 15-year-old American had been riding high after reaching the Men's Singles final at the Veolia Atlanta Slam in the USA, but Vietnamese qualifier Nguyen Hung Anh had other plans. In a marathon three-setter that went 11-7, 5-11, 11-9, Anh stretched Shimabukuro to every corner of the court before eventually sending him to the exit. A massive result for the qualifier, and one of the bigger upsets of the young PPA Asia season.
That leaves #1 seed Hien Truong as the last seed standing from the top four. The Vietnamese star showed exactly why he holds that top spot, dismantling Marco Leung 11-3, 11-4 in a clinical, statement-making performance. His path to a maiden singles gold is still very much intact.
Doubles: Shimabukuro Bounces Back
While Shimabukuro's triple crown bid is officially off the table, he's far from done at the tournament. In Men's Doubles, he and partner Armaan Bhatia cruised through the round of 16 with an efficient 11-5, 11-5 victory over the pair of Maleganeas and Chung.
In Mixed Doubles, Shimabukuro and partner Alix Truong had to dig deep. After being bageled 0-11 in the first game by the Huynh/Hien Truong pair, they fought back to take the match 0-11, 11-6, 11-9. A remarkable turnaround, and proof that even after a tough singles loss, Shimabukuro's competitive edge is very much intact.
Wang Survives a Scare
In Women's Singles, the near-upset of the day belonged to Kei Sawaki, the Japanese teenager who was already the talk of the tournament after her qualifying comeback against Lai on Day 1. She drew the toughest possible assignment in the round of 16: #1 seed and world No. 7 Chao Yi Wang.
Sawaki didn't flinch. She took the first game 11-5, dropped the second 6-11, and pushed the decider all the way to 9-11. A 15-year-old qualifier, within two points of eliminating a Top 10 player in the world. Wang eventually held on, but it was far from comfortable.
Sawaki's tournament continues in Women's Doubles, where she and partner Xiao Yi Wang-Beckvall beat Ho Tam and past Asia silver medalist Sarah Burr in three, 11-5, 9-11, 11-6.
Stay Tuned for Day 3
Quarterfinal action gets Friday morning underway at 8:00 am (GMT+8) from 9Pickle in Setia Alam, Kuala Lumpur. With three seeds gone and qualifiers advancing deep, the draw is completely unpredictable — and that's exactly what makes the rest of this tournament worth watching.
Keep up with on-the-ground coverage from @thepicklebase on Instagram. Here's our coverage of Day 2 in Setia Alam.
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