Deaflympics shuttlers all out to smash weaknesses

Boon (right) and her partner Foo in action during the Women's Doubles event at the 24th Summer Deaflympics held at Caxias Do Sul, Brazil in May. - SHAARI CHEMAT /The Star

FOLLOWING a successful outing at the 24th Summer Deaflympics in Caxias Do Sul, Brazil in May, Malaysian women’s doubles pair Boon Wei Ying and Foo Zu Tung hope to keep their momentum going at the upcoming 2022 Asia-Pacific (AP) Deaf Games.

The Deaflympics gold medallists have less than a month to prepare for the sixth AP Deaf Badminton Championship from Sept 14 to 20 in Pattaya, Thailand.

“There is much for us to improve on, such as our physical endurance and tactics, in addition to strengthening our bond as partners.

“We are expected to play several games in one day and it is vital we improve some of our weaknesses before the games,” said Wei Ying.

Meanwhile, Zu Tung expects tough competition from other countries in the championship.

“It will be a difficult challenge beating shuttlers from Taiwan, Japan and India.

“But we will try out best and play like we normally do,” she said.

The pair bagged gold after upsetting World No.1 pair Jung-Yu Fan-Yan-Ru Shen from Taiwan in a hard-fought rubber match, winning 21-17, 17-21, 21-15.

Their impeccable feat also ended Malaysia’s 21-year gold drought since Zana Azizul Ujang won it in the 2001 Deaflympics in Rome, Italy, for the 110m hurdles in athletics.

On their achievement, Zu Tung said she did not expect those results.

“Initially, we were targeting to reach the quarter-finals but we managed to beat our opponents and go on to the semi-finals and later the finals.

“We are very happy and hope to deliver our best in the AP Deaf Badminton Championship,” she added.

Wei Ying also won silver in the mixed doubles with Edmund Teo Seng Keong as partner.

They were defeated 14-21, 7-21 by the more experienced Indian pair Abhinav Sharma-Jevlin Jayaratchagan.

Besides that, Wei Ying secured a bronze in the women’s singles after receiving a walkover from the Japanese opponent, who had to undergo quarantine for close contact with a Covid-19-infected person.

The shuttlers, who are under the care of the Malaysian Deaf Sports Association (MSDEAF), are currently undergoing training at SJK (C) Puay Chai hall.

J World Sports (JWS) coach Jason Wong, who is also MSDEAF advisor, said the shuttlers were doing well and stood a good chance to come out tops at the AP Deaf Badminton Championship.

“We see improvement from the shuttlers after the Deaflympics and our focus is on enhancing their synergy.

“Edmund will be partnering Boon in the mixed doubles and they will be competing in both the singles and doubles matches.

“Zu Tung will be competing in the women’s singles and doubles.

“The championship can be physically taxing for the trio,” said Jason.

Since 2020, JWS together with Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor Bhd (KPS) have supported Wei Ying and Muhammad Shafiq Hassan, another national hearing-impaired shuttler who participated in the Deaflympics.

Both are athletes from MSDEAF and the National Sports Council development programme.

Both KPS and JWS helped subsidise the cost of training the two for the Deaflympics, which included the training facility, badminton equipment, coaching fees, accommodation and expenses.

In a related matter, Jason said he hoped more recognition would be given to the shuttlers who had etched Malaysia’s name in international competitions.

“We hope they will be equally recognised and rewarded by the Youth and Sports Ministry as other athletes, because they have put in much hard work and made many sacrifices.

“We also invite private companies to fund these athletes at tournaments as part of their corporate social responsibility programmes,” he added.

KPS investor relations and strategic communications director Zul Mawardi said every national athlete, including the hearing-impaired, was an inspiration to Malaysians.

“We hope that with the great achievement of our Malaysian team, there will be more awareness among the general public.

“We encourage greater support from the government and private sector in order for our hearing-impaired athletes to thrive in the future,” he added.