A confident Branson Hee Hek Fung strolled past Nixon Ang Jia Shen 21-19, 21-11 to make the final of the Under-16 Boys’ Singles in Group A of the Second Leg of the Affin-100PLUS Junior Elite Tour 2023.
The Selangor lad’s opponent in the final tomorrow here in Kuantan will be second seed Roslie Razeeq Danial, who made the cut to the final after his opponent Tiew Wei Jie – seeded fourth – had to retire in the rubber set when the former was leading 11-3.
Roslie had taken the first set 21-15 before Wei Jie fought back for the second set 21-9.
Incidentally, both Branson and Roslie will also be down for the final of the U16 Boys’ Doubles following their 21-16, 17-21 and 21-17 win over Thiagaraja Naddar Shahen-Yusuf Daneel M Luqman Hakim in the semifinals today.
The second seeded Branson-Roslie will face the tournament top seed Loh Chee Kiat-Muhamad Amzar Hakimi Akbar, who had to survive an hour-long battle against Lim Sheng Yin-Loh Kim Sheng before emerging victorious 21-23, 21-8, 21-16.
In the meantime in the U16 Girls’ Singles, top seed Shaneesa Shahidi from Melaka was made to work hard for her 21-14, 12-21, 21-15 win over third seed Eng Ler Qi in a battle that lasted some 67 minutes.
Her opponents in the final tomorrow will be Penang’s Lim Zhi Shin, who beat second seed Christine Lam Mei He 21-9, 21-14.
In the U16 Girls’ Doubles, unheralded Cheng Pei En-Leong Jing Ee overcame fourth seeded Selangor pair Kalishvaran Nilasha-Kumaresan Reesha 21-15, 21-10 to confirm their slot in the final.
Their opponents in the decisive tie tomorrow will be Chloe Yeo Feng Yun-Ng Wen Xi, who made the final after Joinne Lee-Lim Zhi Shin retired in the second set when the score was tied 8-8.
Pei En-Jing Ee had taken the first set 24-22.
