Former national shuttler proves he still has what it takes on the court

DESPITE his retirement from competitive badminton, former national doubles shuttler Yap Yee Hup had a chance to set up a rematch against his former team mates from the national squad.

The trio of Chew Choon Eng, Chan Chong Ming and Lee Wan Wah from Pioneer Sports Management (PSM), who are still currently featuring as independent entries on the world circuit, turned up for an exhibition match during the opening ceremony of the 11-court Twins Sport Badminton Centre in Kajang recently.

Yap, who is also the Yap Twins Sport Management chief coaching director, teamed up with Chan and took on the partnership of Chew-Lee.

The 40-year-old Yap said the three invited players were surprised that he was still in shape and sharp in his attempt to match the younger opponents on the court.

“I needed someone to cover me on the back court. But, they were kind enough to slow down the pace and allowed me to have fun. After we took the first game, the spectators requested us to play another game,” he added.

And the friendly encounter ended with a draw with Chew-Lee winning the closely contested second game to level the score.

The newly set-up badminton hall in Kajang have reduced their hourly court rental from RM23 to RM15 on Saturdays and Sundays.

“We need to create the awareness and offer attractive rates to draw recreational players to utilise the courts,” Yap said.

Meanwhile, they will be hosting a one-day doubles tournament for recreational players at another hall in USJ19. The game is scheduled to be held on Aug 16.

Participants will be competing in three cate-gories — men’s doubles open, men’s doubles veteran (45 years and above) and mixed doubles.

A total of RM550 cash will be distributed to the top three winners in the men’s doubles open event with 50 pairs confirming their participation.

“Considering the lack of entries in the men’s doubles veteran and mixed doubles, we are planning to switch the format for both categories to a round-robin competition.

“It will give the pairs the chance to play in more matches. We are still accepting last- minute entries depending on the slots available in the draw for each section,” said Yap, adding that the tournament schedule will be posted on www.yaptwinsbadminton.com.

Among the sponsors for the upcoming meet are RCL, Pro Ace, Apacs, Protech and 100Plus.

For details, call 016-691 9699 (USJ19) or 017-673 8996 (Kajang).