INEXPERIENCE COUNTS AGAINST JIN WEI
Fighting Jin Wei falls short in semis
PETALING JAYA: In the end it all boiled down to experience.
But kudos to teenage shuttler Goh Jin Wei for turning in a gallant fight before going down 21-17, 17-21, 14-21 to China’s top-seeded He Bing Jiao in the semi-finals of the Asian Junior Championships in Bangkok yesterday.
The 15-year-old Penangite was far from overawed in her bid to become Malaysia’s first girls’ singles finalist at the Asian Juniors – and she even took the first game 21-17 against the 18-year-old Bing Jiao.
The China girl, who bagged the China Masters in April, kept cool and dug deep into her bag of reserves to fight back and force a rubber.
It was neck-and-neck in the third game and, as Jin Wei ran out of steam, Bing Jiao sealed victory after 66 minutes.
Bing Jiao, who also won the gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games last year, will meet Thailand’s Chochuwong Pornpawee in the final.
Jin Wei’s defeat means Malaysia have now failed to make the final of any event in the Asian junior meet for the second straight year.
The petite Jin Wei, who bagged a bronze medal at the Singapore SEA Games, can walk tall after some impressive performances here.
“Jin Wei played very well today against a higher ranked and more experienced opponent,” said Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) project manager Kwan Yoke Meng.
“They fought point for point in the third game and both girls were tired. The Chinese girl was more experienced ... and kept delaying the match.
“Jin Wei became nervous and made too many mistakes.
“Still, she has done well at the Asian Juniors. It’s also a good experience for her, especially with the World Junior Championships coming up in four months’ time (in Lima, Peru, from Nov 4-15).”
In the boys’ event, reigning world junior champion Lin Guipu of China thrashed Japan’s Yuta Watanabe 21-10, 21-12 in the semi-finals.
He will meet South Korea’s Seo Seung-jae, who defeated Taiwan’s Lu Chia-hung 21-14, 21-18, in the final.