Wei Jian working hard to pile on the pounds

The press coverage of Ong Wei Jian was published in the Star Publications (M) Bhd (Co No 10894-D)

Friday December 10, 2010

Wei Jian working hard to pile on the pounds

Rising star
By NG WEI LOON
weiloon@thestar.com.my
Photos by M. AZHAR ARIF

PINT-sized junior shuttler Ong Wei Jian has been finding it hard to gain weight and beef up physically.

Despite having a big appetite during his regular meals, former national mixed and women’s doubles shuttler Chor Hooi Yee said the young talent has not put on weight.

“He showed tremendous progress last year. Although he had the opportunity to take part in the junior tournaments at national level this year, he has remained stagnant without showing outstanding improvement this year.

“We are concerned about his slow development. The year-end school holiday is a good period for him to put in the extra effort and attempt to make up for lost ground. He has a lot of catching up to do in becoming a more accomplished player,” she added.

Up and coming: Wei Jian in focus during training.

But, the 12-year-old from Kedah has not lost his hunger to challenge for honours at the national junior level.

Besides featuring in several junior tournaments over the recent school break, Wei Jian is also going through the paces four hours daily for six days a week under the care of Hooi Yee at her training centre in Cheras.

Wei Jian hopes he will achieve his aim in bringing his game to another level by increasing the frequency and intensity in training over the period.

“I have been coping with the training programme drawn up for me. The strenuous physical sessions have always been tough.

“Recently, I have been using a heavier racquet to attain more forceful execution of attacking strokes,” said Wei Jian, adding that it had always been enjoyable to spend his holidays with the training buddies at the centre.

It was a sweet outing for Wei Jian when he went on to bag a double, winning both the boys’ Under-12 singles and doubles for the second consecutive year at the Hooi Yee Sport Junior Badminton Championships recently.

After an easy victory over his partner Leong Wei Lun in the singles, Wei Jian-Wei Lun were forced to slog and came from a game down before securing the victory.

Hooi Yee admitted that Wei Jian needed to improve on his strength to threaten his opponents with better delivery of shots.

“He has been struggling to score the winners when his opponents pressure him with quality returns. He will need to overcome the difficulty when he is under pressure,” she said.

After showing promise as an emerging talent in age-group meets at state level, Wei Jian made his debut to feature at national junior competitions this year.

Although he was an early casualty, crashing out in the early round at the Malaysian Schools Sports Council (MSSM) tournament, Wei Jian paired up with Lee Zii Jia to emerge as one of the top boys’ Under-12 combinations at the National Junior Circuit.

Wei Jian said he was surprised that they went all the way to end their season on a winning note securing the top position at the Grand Prix finals.

Earlier, the duo were the champions and runners-up of the Zone A series at the first and second legs respectively while Wei Jian failed to clear the semi-finals at the top half of the draw on both occasions.

Fact File

Name: Ong Wei Jian

Date of Birth: June 25, 1998

Ht: 1.56m Wt: 37kg

School: SJK (C) Sin Min (Year Six)

Hobby: Playing badminton

Ambition: National shuttler

Favourite Sports Personality: Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia)

Achievements:

2007

- Kota Star Community Sports Club boys’ Under-10 champion
- Kedah boys’ Under-11 singles semi-finalist

2008

- Kota Star Community Sports Club boys’ Under-10 and Under-12 singles champion
- Kedah boys’ Under-10 singles runner-up
- Kedah boys’ Under-11 singles runner-up

2009

- Kedah boys’ Under-11 singles semi-finalist
- Kedah boys’ Under-12 singles runner-up
- MSS Kedah boys’ Under-12 singles and doubles runner-up
- Hooi Yee Sport Junior Badminton Championships boys’ Under-12 singles and doubles champion

2010

- Kedah boys’ Under-12 singles semi-finalist and doubles champion
- MSS Kedah boys’ Under-12 singles runner-up
- National Junior Circuit Zone A first leg boys’ Under-12 singles semi-finalist and doubles champion
- National Junior Circuit Zone A second leg boys’ Under-12 singles semi-finalist and doubles runner-up
- National Junior Grand Prix finals boys’ Under-12 doubles champion
- Bakti-MSSWP-Milo-DBKL Badminton Open boys’ Under-12 doubles runner-up
- Hooi Yee Sport Junior Badminton Championships boys’ Under-12 singles and doubles champion

Youngster Lishwan overcomes Vi Hen to lift his maiden Under-15 title

Finally, the press coverage of Hooi Yee Sport Junior Badminton Championship 2010 was published in the Star Publications (M) Bhd (Co No 10894-D)

Monday November 29, 2010

Youngster Lishwan overcomes Vi Hen to lift his maiden Under-15 title

By NG WEI LOON
weiloon@thestar.com.my
Photos by RAYMOND OOI

YOUNGSTER M. Lishwan survived a lengthy encounter before securing his maiden junior title in the boys’ Under-15 singles during the Hooi Yee Sport Junior Badminton Championships at the Sports Affairs’ 15-court badminton in Taman Segar Perdana, Cheras on Tuesday.

After winning the first game 21-19, Lishwan of SMK Bukit Jalil allowed Tan Vi Hen to force the decider when he dropped the following game 15-21.

The 14-year-old Lishwan admitted he had trouble coping with his opponent’s attacking in the second game.

“I was not as sharp in the second game because I lost focus. But, I bounced back strongly in the third game and took a comfortable five-point lead (11-6) as we went into the interval. He (Vi Hen) put up a good fight and tried to narrow the deficit from there. But, I knew that I was in control of the match,” he said.

Second best: Lishwan (left) and his partner Yong Han Xian finishing as the runners-up in the boys’ Under-15 doubles.

Coming into the competition, Lishwan had featured in two other tournaments and was a finalist in the boys’ Under-14 singles section in the previous meet.

“I have signed up for another six tournaments hosted around the Klang Valley during the school holiday. It feels good to secure a victory in a junior tournament over the year-end school break.
“I hope that I will continue to improve on my performance and bag several more titles along the way,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ong Wei Jian scored another double in the boys’ Under-12 category for the second consecutive year.

Following an effortless 21-12, 21-10 win over his doubles partner Leong Wei Lun in the singles, the duo faced a stiff test and came from a game down before coming through in winning the doubles title.

The combination of Najmi Kamarudin-Izzudin Muzli proved themselves as worthy finalists and got off to an explosive start to stun the favourites by winning the opening game 22-20.
However, Wei Jian-Wei Lun lived up to their billing as the favourites and wrapped up the following two games 21-18, 21-19 for a hard-earned victory.

Go for it: The girls’ Under-13 doubles losing finalists Samantha Chin (front) retrieving a shot while her partner Lim Jee Lynn, who won the girls’ Under-13 singles, looks on.

The 12-year-old Wei Jian from Kedah also won both titles in the similar styles after having to fend off strong challenge in the doubles last year.

In addition, the duo of Yew Chen Sen and Saw Wei Jian also captured both the singles and doubles in boys’ Under-10 and Under-18 categories respectively.

Former national women’s and mixed doubles shuttler Chor Hooi Yee was impressed with the youngsters who showed a higher level of competitiveness compared to last year’s tournament.
The recent two-day tournament drew 300 junior entries in various age-groups. For the boys, the four categories were Under-10, Under-12, Under-15 and Under-18 while the girls competed in the Under-10, Under-13 and Under-16 contests.

Besides badminton equipment, the winners also shared a total cash reward of more than RM3,000.

RESULTS (all finals)
> BOYS’
- Under-10 Singles: Yew Chen Shen bt Lim Chong King 21-15, 21-11
- Under-12 Singles: Ong Wei Jian bt Leong Wei Lun 21-12, 21-10
- Under-15 Singles: M. Lishwan bt Tan Vi Hen 21-19, 15-21, 21-17
- Under-18 Singles: Saw Weng Jian bt William Choo 21-17, 17-21, 21-16
- Under-10 Doubles: Micheal Cheah Wen Ee-Yew Chen Shen bt Tai Ming Nan-Faiz Zulkifli 21-16, 21-13
- Under-12 Doubles: Ong Wei Jian-Leong Wei Lun bt Najmi Kamarudin-Izzudin Muzli 20-22, 21-18, 21-19
- Under-15 Doubles: Shahrunizam Rahman-Shahrunazim Rahman bt M. Lishwan-Yong Han Xian 21-17, 21-16
- Under-18 Doubles: Saw Weng Jian-William Choo bt Lee Jo Yeap-Bok Loo Soon 21-16, 21-12

> GIRLS’
- Under-10 Singles: Pearly Tan bt Lim Hui Hui 21-12, 21-7
- Under-13 Singles: Lim Jee Lynn bt Nur Johanna Addyana 21-10, 21-13
- Under-16 Singles: Ho Wei Ching bt Lok Ashley 22-16, 21-14
- Under-13 Doubles: Nur Johanna Addyana-Chen Yi Teng bt Samantha Chin-Lim Jee Lynn 12-21, 22-20, 21-6