Jin Wei will have chance for payback against Yufei

PETALING JAYA: Goh Jin Wei will not have to wait long to exact sweet revenge on Chen Yufei of China.

Based on the draw for Tuesday’s individual competition in the World Junior Badminton Championships, top seed and defending champion Jin Wei is expected to face second seed Yufei in the girls’ singles final in Bilbao, Spain, on Sunday.

Last Sunday, the 19-year-old Yufei wore down 16-year-old Jin Wei to win 22-20, 14-21, 21-8 in an 80-minute energy-sapping match to deliver China’s winning point in the mixed team final.

Malaysia were banking on Jin Wei to turn the tide following the defeats of Chen Tang Jie-M. Thinaah in the mixed doubles and Leong Jun Hao in the boys’ singles, but she could not live up to the expectations.

With the 3-0 defeat, 2011 champions Malaysia had to be content with the silver. For China, it was their 11th success in the championships.

Malaysia coach Kwan Yoke Meng believes Jin Wei, who injured her finger while trying to retrieve one of Yufei’s shots, will bounce back to win the singles crown.

“Jin Wei did not lose because of the injury. Yufei read her game very well. The defeat is hard to take but I’m confident that Jin Wei will regain her confidence for the individual event,” said the former Thomas Cup winner.

To retain the title, Jin Wei will have to win all her eight matches in the 256-player draw.

Jin Wei’s main challengers in the top half of the draw are seventh seed Gregoria Mariska of Indonesia and Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong. She defeated both of them earlier in the mixed team matches.

“Overall, I am proud of our players’ performances and team spirit. Hopefully, they will carry on the momentum going into the individual competition,” said Yoke Meng.

The only other Malaysian to be seeded in the top two is Lee Zii Jia in the boys’ singles. He is seeded second behind Kanthaphon Wangcharoen of Thailand.