JIN WEI TO FACE CHINA’S WANG ZHIYI IN SEMIS, INDONESIA PAIR AWAIT PEARLY- EE WEI
Shuttlers take two semi-final spots at world junior meet in Markham
PETALING JAYA: Malaysian girls Goh Jin Wei and Pearly Tan Koong Le-Toh Ee Wei turned on the power to reach the singles and doubles semi-finals in the World Junior Championships in Markham, Canada, in a day when all other shuttlers in the team crashed out.
Youth Olympic Games champion Jin Wei took only 24 minutes to blow away Lee So-yul of South Korea 21-11, 21-5 in the girls’ singles quarter-finals on Friday.
Pearly-Ee Wei were also in their element as they whipped Shiena Fukumoto-Natsu Saito of Japan 21-12, 21-10 to reach their first-ever semi-final in their third attempt at the world junior meet.
But it could all end for Malaysia in the semi-finals if the 2015 world junior champion Jin Wei and Pearly-Ee Wei do not step up.
The 18-year-old Jin Wei faces a tricky match against China’s Wang Zhiyi, who has been on fire in the world junior meet.
Zhiyi lost to Jin Wei in the final of the Youth Olympic Games but made amends by beating the Malaysian in last week’s mixed team quarter-final tie and yesterday, she outplayed teammate Zhou Meng 21-19, 21-10 in the quarter-finals to set up the date with Jin Wei again.
Third seeds Pearly-Ee Wei will finally taste the toughest test in the individual competition when they take on second seeds Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma-Ribka Sugiarto of Indonesia for a place in the final.
Both pairs have a 1-1 record – the Malaysians lost to the Indonesians at the Asian Junior meet in July in Indonesia but a month later, they exacted revenge at the Malaysian International Junior Open in August.
Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) coaching and training committee chairman Datuk Ng Chin Chai was happy Malaysia met their two-medal target. Those who reach the semi-finals are guaranteed of bronze medals.
“The girls have assured two medals but we hope Jin Wei and Pearly-Ee Wei will go two steps further and win at least one gold medal for Malaysia,” said Chin Chai.
“Malaysia last won a gold through Jin Wei in 2015 and we hope the wait will be ended.
“I’m also happy to note that the Malaysian girls have overtaken our boys by reaching two semi-finals. Our boys used to dominate in the past world juniors.”
In the boys’ singles, the gallant run of Ng Tze Yong and Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin ended in the quarter-finals.
Tze Yong started well but ran out of gas, losing 19-21, 8-21 to Japan’s Kodai Naraoka while Aidil’s late comeback was not enough to beat Lakshya Sen of India and he went down 8-21, 18-21.
In the mixed doubles, Ee Wei-Chia Wei Jie and Pearly-Choong Hon Jian failed to inspire when they went down tamely to their respective opponents in the quarter-finals.
Team manager Jadadish Chandra said: “It was a good show overall for the team. We came only with 11 players but 8 of them made it to the quarter-finals. It’s quite a rarity for Malaysia. Hopefully, we’ll finish strong in the remaining events.”
QUARTER-FINALS
Boys’ singles: Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha) bt Alberto Alvin Yulianto (Ina) 21-14, 21-17; Lakshya Sen (Ind) bt Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin (Mas) 21-8, 21-18; Kodai Naraoka (Jpn) bt Ng Tze Yong (Mas) 21-19, 21-8; Li Shifeng (Chn) bt Nhat Nguyen (Ind) 19-21, 21-10, 21-14.
Boys’ doubles: Wang Chan-Shin Tae-yang (Kor) bt Vishnu Vardhan Goud Panjala-Srikrishna Sai Kumar Podile (Ind) 21-11, 21-8; Thanawin Madee-Wachirawit Sothon (Tha) bt Cheng Kai-wen-Lu Chih-wei (Tpe) 21-19, 21-14; Liang Weikeng-Shang Yichen (Chn) bt Apichasit Teerawiwat-Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha) 21-13, 21-6; Di Zijian-Wang Chang (Chn) bt Dai Enyi-Feng Yanzhe (Chn) 21-18, 21-11.
Girls’ singles: Wang Zhiyi (Chn) bt Zhou Meng (Chn) 21-18, 21-10; Wei Yaxin (Chn) bt Park Ga-eun (Kor) 21-23, 21-15, 21-18; Goh Jin Wei (Mas) bt Lee So-yul (Kor) 21-11, 21-5; Line Christophersen (Den) bt Eoon Qi Quan (Mas) 23-21, 23-21.
Girls’ doubles: Liu Xuanxuan-Xua Yuting (Chn) bt Amalie Magelund-Freja Ravn (Den) 21-9, 21-9; Pearly Tan Koong Le-Toh Ee Wei (Mas) bt Shiena Fukumoto-Natsu Saito (Jpn) 21-12, 21-10; Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma-Ribka Sugiarto (Ina) bt Chen YingyingZhang Shuxian (Chn) 14-21, 21-9, 21-15; Agatha Imanuela-Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti (Ina) bt Chen Yingxue-Li Yijing (Chn) 21-13, 21-9.
Mixed doubles: Wang Chan-Jeong Na-eun (Kor) bt Ghifari Anandaffa Prihardika-Lisa Ayu Kusumawati (Ina) 21-16, 12-21, 30-28; Leo Rolly Carnando-Indah Cahaya Seri Jamil (Ina) bt Chia Wei Jie-Toh Ee Wei (Mas) 21-12, 21-17; Shang Yichen-Zhang Shuxian (Chn) bt Pramudya Kusumawardana Riyanto-Ribka Sugiarto (Ina) 21-15, 24-22; Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto-Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti (Ina) bt Choong Hon Jian-Pearly Tan Koong Le (Mas) 21-10, 21-17.
HK OPEN SEMI-FINAL
Men’s singles: Son Wan-ho (Kor) bt Kento Momota (Jpn) 18-21, 21-16, 21-19.
Men’s doubles: Takeshi Kamura-Keigo Sonoda (Jpn) bt Fajar Alfian-Muhd Rian Ardianto (Ina) 24-22, 21-15.
Women’s singles: Ratchanok Intanon (Tha) bt Sung Ji-hyun (Kor) 10-21, 21-11, 21-17.
Women’s doubles: Lee So-hee-Shin Seung-chan (Kor) bt Shiho Tanaka-Koharu Yonemoto (Jpn) 21-6, 21-12.
Mixed doubles: Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino (Jpn) bt Lee YangHsu Ya-ching (Tpe) 21-11, 21-10.