World Junior Champs Nelson And Teo Out To Break The Jinx

PETALING JAYA: Shuttlers Nelson Heg Wei Keat-Teo Ee Yi (pic) are determined to break the hoodoo of being world junior champions.

None of the previous six Malaysian winning pairs have made the transition to senior ranks, but Wei Keat-Ee Yi believe they have the quality and the will to succeed where the others failed.

Gan Wye Teck-Chan Chong Ming (winners in 1996), Chan Chong Ming-Teo Kok Seng (1998), Hoon Thien How-Tan Boon Heong (2004), Mak Hee Chun-Teo Kok Siang (2008), Chooi Kah Ming-Ow Yao Han (2009) and Ow Yao Han-Yew Hong Kheng (2010) all failed to make the grade. It was either a case of fractured styles or fractured relationships. Either way, the partnerships never stood the test of time beyond the junior years .

Khe Wei Wants To Iimprove Consistency To Push For Olympic Spot

PETALING JAYA: Women’s doubles pair Woon Khe Wei (pic)-Vivian Hoo have taken the badminton world by storm since their breakthrough semi-final appearance in the Thailand Open last May.

Khe Wei-Vivian, who are now the second ranked Malaysian pair, have since scaled greater heights, reaching the quarter-finals of the Vietnam Open and the semi-finals of the Taiwan Open before winning their first-ever title – the Indonesian Open GP Gold last October.

And they have, along the way, knocked out several top pairs, including world No. 8 Meiliana Jauhari-Greysia Polii of Indonesia and China’s Cheng Shu-Pan Pan and Bao Yixin-Zhong Qianxin.

Khe Wei-Vivian also reached the semi-finals of the India Open GP Gold last week, before narrowly losing to top seeds and world No. 5 Miyuki Maeda-Satoko Suetsuna of Japan.

Chan-Goh Stun Second Seeds In Their Own Den

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s mixed doubles pair Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying made a breakthrough in their careers when they upset second seeds Xu Chen-Ma Jin of China to reach the quarter-finals of the China Open in Shanghai yesterday.

World No. 9 Peng Soon-Liu Ying battled for 49 minutes to beat the All-England champions 21-14, 11-21, 21-16 in the second round.

It was their first win over a Chinese pair in their four-year-old partnership.

Today, Peng Soon-Liu Ying will take on Thailand’s A. Songphon-V. Kunchala for a place in the semi-finals and national coach Jeremy Gan hoped that the duo continue their fantastic run.

Careless V Shem Left To Rue Costly Mistake

JAKARTA: If only Goh V Shem had not served the shuttle into the net when the score was tied at 19-19 in the deciding game, it would have been a different story.

But that was what the SEA Games debutant did and the fanatical home fans in the Istora Bung Karno roared in delight.

Ankle Injury Ends Jing Yi’s Hopes Of A Bronze Medal

JAKARTA: Shuttler Tee Jing Yi was on the verge of a big upset in the SEA Games but it all fell apart after injuring her ankle during the quarter-finals of the women’s singles at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno in Senayan yesterday.

The 20-year-old was progressing confidently in the rubber game against top seed Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand but a sudden burst of movement from the backline to retrieve a shuttle at the net, while leading 16-14, caused Jing Yi to fall and injure her ankle.

She bravely fought on but while her heart was willing, her injured leg couldn’t take the strain as she tried to ward off the relentless attack by the Thai girl.

SEA GAMES: Smooth Sailing For Malaysians

There were few surprises in the Sea Games badminton individual competition at Istora Senayan yesterday as most of the national players cleared the opening round without too much trouble.

Vivian Hoo (right) and Woon Khe Wei beat Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Sen and Vu Thi Trang 21-14, 21-11 yesterday.

SEA GAMES: Second Stringers Give Hosts A Big Scare

There was not much hope to begin with but Malaysia's badminton second liners can walk tall after giving Indonesia a fright in a 3-1 defeat in the men's team final at Istora Senayan yesterday.

Goh V Shem-Lim Kim Wah being briefed on the heritage room by beat Bona Septano-Muhammad Ahsan yesterday. - Picture by Imran Makhzan

   Men's doubles Goh V Shem-Lim Kim Wah certainly will be a pair to watch when the individual events start today after scoring an upset win over top seeds Bona Septano-Muhammad Ahsan in front of a hostile crowd.