Newly-wed Amelia not done with badminton yet
KUALA LUMPUR: SEA Games women’s doubles champion Amelia Anscelly is not going to let married life stop her from dreaming big in badminton.
The 28-year-old Amelia tied the knot with longtime sweetheart Poh Chai Boon, who is also a coach with the Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS), on Aug 20.
And Amelia is bent on making both her partnerships – off-court with Chai Boon and on-court with 19-year-old Teoh Mei Xing – work.
Sabahan Amelia has been partnering Mei Xing in women’s doubles since June. They did well to reach the semi-finals of the Vietnam International Challenge in June itself.
But Amelia is hoping to do all she can to help Mei Xing raise her game up a notch.
“I’ve been given the responsibility to take Mei Xing’s game to a higher level. She is slowly catching up,” said Amelia.
“Mei Xing is putting a lot of pressure on herself to match with my pace in training. She needs more time, experience and understanding on how the game is played at the higher level.
“I want her to qualify for the next Olympic Games in Tokyo – either with me or another person. She must have goals to achieve.”
Amelia-Mei Xing will get a chance to strut their stuff at the Dutch Open from Oct 11-16 and Swiss International Series from Oct 20-23.
Amelia paired up with Mei Xing when her former partner, Soong Fie Cho, took a break to recover from a knee surgery last year.
Fie Cho resumed training last month but will only begin to take part in competitions early next year.
Amelia clearly misses her partnership with Fie Cho.
“We had a great year last year, but it all changed when she picked up the injury after falling on the court during a training session.
“I’m happy to see her back. She is definitely a work in progress,” said Amelia, who intends to wait for Fie Cho until she’s fully fit again.
Amelia-Fei Cho shot into the limelight when they bagged the Indian Open Grand Prix title in January last year. They went on to win the SEA Games gold medal in Singapore.
At the World Championships in Jakarta in August last year, they defeated world No. 1 Misaki Matsutomo-Ayaka Takahashi of Japan to reach the quarter-finals.
They duo moved up to the No. 17 in the world ranking and were on the brink of winning a ticket to this year’s Rio Olympic Games when the 28-year-old Fie Cho suffered the injury.