Surprise win for twins
By NG WEI LOON weiloon@thestar.com.my
Photos by ROHAIZAT MD DARUS
TWIN brothers Chew Lok Kin and Lok Hong provided the joy for the hosts at the third edition of Hooi Yee Sport Junior Badminton Championships at their training centre based at Sports Affairs’ 15-court badminton hall in Taman Segar Perdana, Cheras recently.
The duo, under the tutelage of former national women’s doubles and mixed doubles shuttler Chor Hooi Yee, emerged as the surprise winners of the boys’ Under-12 doubles contest.
It was not smooth sailing for Lok Kin-Lok Hong as they came from a game down against Kedah’s Abdul Jalil-Chua Soo Jeff before prevailing 13-21, 21-19, 21-12 in the final. Hooi Yee said Lok Kin-Lok Hong were lucky to force the championship match down to the wire.
“Going into the final, their opponents (Abdul Jalil-Chua Soo Jeff) were considered as the stronger pair on paper. For the brothers, they have not been training regularly throughout the year as they also had to focus on their studies and other activities.
“They only resumed training seriously a month before the recent tournament. It was a sweet return for them to secure the victory. After overcoming their opponents in a tight second game, they found their rhythm and won the decider convincingly,” she added.
The recent tournament drew almost 500 competitors in the 12 categories of the three-day meet.
The boys competed in both singles and doubles in four age-groups — Under-10, Under-12, Under-14 and Under-16 — while the four sections for the girls were Under-10 singles, Under-13 singles, Under-13 doubles and Under-16 singles.
Besides the entries from the Klang Valley, junior shuttlers from Kedah, Penang, Perak, Negri Sembilan, Malacca and Johor also joined the occasion.
Hooi Yee admitted the stronger northern contenders, including entries from Penang and Kedah, added excitement and offered tougher competition in the three-day meet.
The visitors, representing several different training camps in Penang, registered a fruitful outing and went home with five titles.
It was double joy for Penang’s Lim Ming Chuen in the boys’ Under-16 category winning singles as well as pairing up with Ong Wei Khoon for the victory in the doubles.
The Penangites made a strong impression and captured the boys’ Under-10 singles and doubles as well as the girls’ Under-13 doubles.
For the Kuala Lumpur Badminton Association (KLBA) Junior Closed championships scheduled at the Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium in Cheras until today, Hooi Yee said they would be fielding six hopefuls in gauging their strength against their peers from Kuala Lumpur in all singles events.
The six promising talents are Koh Sian Hern (boys’ Under-11); Lok Kin, Lok Hong, Tai Ming Nan and Chang Hong Jack (boys’ Under-13); and Tai Jing Yi (girls’ Under-13).
Results (All finals)
BOYS’
- Under-10 Singles: Lee Shun Yang bt Loo Bing Kun 21-12, 21-13
- Under-10 Doubles: Loo Bing Kun-Ting Hock Yu bt Koh Sian Hern-Ching Kai Feng 21-18, 21-15
- Under-12 Singles: Abdul Jalil bt Low Eu Cong 21-10, 21-6
- Under-12 Doubles: Chew Lok Kin-Chew Lok Hong bt Abdul Jalil-Chua Soo Jeff 13-21, 21-19, 21-12
- Under-14 Singles: Yeoh Seng Zoe bt Choy Chong Hau 21-15, 19-21, 21-18
- Under-14 Doubles: Low Guan Liang-Rickson Tan bt Muhd Najmi-Mohd Iskandar 21-15, 21-13
- Under-16 Singles: Lim Ming Chuen bt Bolriffin 21-11, 14-21, 16-4 (rtd)
- Under-16 Doubles: Lim Ming Chuen-Ong Wei Khoon bt Muhd Sharul Nazim-Muhd Sharul Nizam 21-16, 21-15
GIRLS’
- Under-10 Singles: Hng Wen Gee bt Erica Hoh Ji Ling 21-11, 18-21, 21-15
- Under-13 Singles: Loh Bao Ying bt Chuah Xin Er 21-6, 21-19
- Under-13 Doubles: Chuah Xin Er-Lee Shun Mei bt Chen Yi Teng-Nur Johanna Addyana 18-21, 21-13, 21-8
- Under-16 Singles: Jacqueline Ong bt Bhirentha 21-19, 21-16