THAILAND SCORES AN UNPRECEDENTED ‘DOUBLE’ IN ALOR SETAR
Thai youngsters were a sensation at the conclusion of the World Junior Badminton Championship at the Sultan Abdul Halim Stadium in the North Malaysian city of Alor Setar over the weekend. In an exhibition of unprecedented quality of the highest level, they captured the Ladies Singles and the Mixed Doubles titles to win their nation’s first ever ‘gold’ in the World Junior event since its inception in 1992.
This was effectively the first time that Thai players had even qualified to the finals in any discipline, let alone winning one. In Alor Setar on Sunday night local time, they dispelled the virtual invincibility of the Chinese by having two of their players in the Final, an unparalleled achievement.
Ratchanok Intanon and Porntip Buranaprasertsu were the toast of Thailand. Seeded among the 5-8, they crawled their way through the ranks to face each other for the coveted title. And in the process, 18-year old Porntip saw off the Asian Champion and the top seeded Chen Xiaojia of China in a remarkable encounter that went all of three games in the semi-final, winning 16-21, 21-16, 21-19.
But the night belonged to Ratchanok, who at 16 becomes one of the youngest winners of the title. Though her older teammate looked slightly off colour after her gruelling semi-final encounter against Chen, yet nothing should be taken away from Ratchanok. She was simply superb. Her performance completely belied her age. She will be a name that would be worth following in the years ahead.
Thailand’s second gold only became a reality when Maneepong Jongjit & Rodjana Chuthanbunditkul had seen off the 2nd seeds Liu Piexuan & Xia Hean of China in the Quarter-finals. The Thais had been seeded ¾ in the tournament. The Final against the unseeded Indonesian pair of Angga Pratama & Destiara Haris Della in the Final did have its moments of anxiety for the Thai youngsters but they finally prevailed, wining 21-19, 14-21, 21-17.
Malaysia’s hopes of emulating Thailand with it first-ever Men Singles gold medalist went up in smoke when the top-seeded Chinese Tian Houwei saw off the challenge of Zainudin Iskander in double quick time, winning 21-12, 21-17. But the Malaysian did pick up a consolation prize when Choi Kah Ming & Ow Yao Han came from the brink of defeat to edge out Indonesians Berry Anggriawan & Muhammed Ulin. After conceding the first game 19-21, the Malaysian pair came strong in the second winning 21-12 but had to dig deep into its reserves to sneak ahead 23-21 in the ‘rubber’.
In Ladies Doubles, the Chinese pair of Tang Jinhua & Xia Huan was too strong for Indonesia’s Suci Rizki Andini & Tiara Nuraidah, winning 21-9, 21-18.
While Thailand and China return home with two titles each and Malaysia one, Indonesia had a lean outing in Alor Setar. It had three finalists but none could salvage any ‘gold’.
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