Mei Kuan-Vivian serve up a golden surprise
pair Chow Mei KuanVivian Hoo won the all-important seventh and final gold medal for Malaysia in the Commonwealth Games as the contingent surpassed their target with a haul of seven gold, five silver and 12 bronze medals.
The unseeded Mei Kuan-Vivian followed up Lee Chong Wei’s men’s singles triumph with a 2112, 21-12 win over third seeds Lauren Smith-Sarah Walker of England in 42 minutes at the Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre yesterday.
Mei Kuan was a replacement for Vivian’s partner, Woon Khe Wei, who suffered a knee injury at the Asia Team Championships in February. They only played in one tournament prior to the games.
“We did really well in handling the pressure today. Mei Kuan and I kept calm and we were defensively strong,” said Vivian.
“I am proud of Mei Kuan. It is her first big tournament, so I am really proud with the way she handled pressure.
“She made some mistakes at the beginning of the tournament, but she improved after every match and I hope she will learn something from this experience.”
On Malaysia surpassing the sixgold target, Vivian said: “We are proud to have achieved the seventh gold for the country.”
“Although badminton did not do as well as expected, everyone did their best. I hope the fans will keep supporting us,” added Vivian, who won the doubles title with Khe Wei in 2014 (Glasgow).
Mei Kuan said: “My seniors here taught me many things. It is a dream to win a Commonwealth Games title as I did not expect to be in the squad.
“I just did my best. Vivian told me that as long I do well, results would come, and I just used her advice as a source of motivation in the tournament.”