At least three bronze for Malaysia
MALAYSIA are guaranteed of at least three bronze medals at the Badminton Asia Junior Championships in Jakarta.
In the quarter-finals yesterday, boys’ doubles Chia Wei Jie-Ng Tze Yong staged the biggest upset of the day when they saw off top seeds Krishna Prasad GaragaDhruv Kapila of India 23-21, 21-11.
The Malaysian scratch pair, totally unexpected to go this far, will next play the winner of the match between Thailand’s Wachirawit Sothon-Natthapat Trinkajee and China’s Di Zijian-Chang Wang for a place in the final.
“Excellent result from the boys and they have been consistent throughout the competition. Hopefully they get to maintain their momentum and go a step further.
“I’m just so surprised with their performance because they are only a scratch pair and none of us had expected them to come this far,” said Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) coach Kwan Yoke Meng.
In the boys’ singles last eight stage, sixth seed Leong Jun Hao lived up to his billing when he beat China’s Gu Junfeng 15-21, 2116, 21-13 to check into the next round.
Jun Hao, who is tipped to be Malaysia’s next big name in men’s singles takes on third seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand today.
“This is Jun Hao’s best chance to win the title. I really hope he can manage the pressure and go all the way,” added Yoke Meng.
Malaysia’s third surprise package came in the form of girls’ singles Eoon Qi Xuan who clawed back from a game down to beat China’s Wang Zhiyi 14-21, 21-15, 21-13.
Qi Xuan, who has also been consistent from day one, takes on another China shuttler, fourth seed Han Yue in the semi-finals today.
Yoke Meng, who had only expected one semi-final representation, said: “I’m glad because our target has been achieved. Now, I hope the players can manage the pressure well. Take it easy, so they can bring out the best in them.”
At the previous edition in Bangkok last year, Malaysia only managed one bronze through boys’ doubles Ooi Zi Heng-Soh Wooi Yik.