Penang and Kuala Lumpur had to conjure their all in the rubber sets before they were able to fend off challenges from Selangor and Perak to make the finals of the 100PLUS National Interstate U-12 and U-16 Badminton Championships at Bukit Dumbar here.
Penang’s U16 boys did not start well when Samuel Lee lost to Chua Kim Seng (19-21, 21-18, 19-21) but their doubles pair of Goh Boon Zhe/Rayner Beh Chun Meng fought back to beat Kenny Khew Han Yang/Muhammad Zulhairi Sahimi (21-18 21-10) for Ong Zhen Yi to edge Yap Juin An (21-15 21-12).
Kuala Lumpur clinched their spot in the final after Perak’s Justin Hoh defeated Anson Cheong (21-18, 21-19), Bryan Jeremy Goonting/Muhd Fazriq Razif lost Chun Zhe Thai/Edward Cheong (20-22, 10-21 ), Hooi Shao Herng vs Ewe Eon Eogene (21-19, 21-15).
In the U-16 Girls team, Selangor derailed Penang’s plan to have a clean sweep of all the titles after booking their spot in the final to meet Johor.
Penang Tan Shen Ting lost to Siti Nurshuhaini Azman (7-21, 13-21), Khor Jing Wen/Lee Xin Jie defeated Ho Lo Ee/Loh Zhi Wei (21-13, 23-21), Tan Zhing Yi lost to Letshanaa Karupathevan (16-21, 15-21).
Johor made it to the final after clinching the victory in the final match with singles Lim Shin defeated Panimaller Balan (21-3, 21-6), Hoe Shi Yun/Oh Jia Qi lost to sisters Cheng Su Hui/Cheng Su Yin (13-21, 8-21), Carmen Ting Wei Wen won against Yeshveeni Kalaiseluan (21-18 18-21 21-18).
Penang however showed their dominance in theU-12 Boys and Girls teams by booking their tickets in the final to meet Kedah and Kuala Lumpur respectively.
The Islanders Boys’ team defeated Johor by 2-1 despite falling in the first game after Martin Lam Yi Jie lost to Johor’s Lim Wei Hou (18-21, 14-21). Their doubles team of Nixon Ang Jia Shen/Tan Zhia Yan defeated Kedah’s pair of Chee Hong Wei/Danial Tan Yin Enn (21-12, 21-16) and their final singles Tan Zhi Shen clinched it in a dramatic match against Kong Wen Zhou, coming back after losing the first set (18-21, 21-12, 21-19).
As for the Girls, they had no problem eliminating the Selangor team in two straight games of 2-0. First single Oo San Zhi beat Tan Xin Yu (21-12, 21-13) and the doubles pair of Lim Zhi Sin/Nicole Tan Pei En won against Selangor’s Nilasha Kaliswaran/Reesha Kumaresan (21-12, 21-10).
The other finalists in the U-12 Boys, Kedah the surprise this year by booking their final spot by defeating Kuala Lumpur 2-1. They had to rely on their two singles after losing the doubles match.
Their singles playerm Loh Zhi Heng defeated Lee Jian Xun (21-15, 21-9), lost in the doubels when Chah Zhen Xuan/Lai Man Tat were outplayed by Irfan Aqil Muhd Najib/Low Hao Feng (13-21, 10-21). Their last singles Kee Is Qian save the day for them after winning against Tan Yu Xiao (21-15, 21-17).
In the U-12 Girls, Kuala Lumpur also goes through the final with ease after defeating Pahang 2-0 after winning in the singles and doubles. Their singles of Lee Kay Xin defeated of Pahang Ng Wen Xi (21-17, 19-21, 21-17) and the pair of Teh Xin Yin/Yap Jing Ning ousted Cheok Xin Yi/Nisa Farina Nordin (21-6, 21-11).
