Misbun Ramdan Misbun added some spice to the recently concluded KL Open
KUALA LUMPUR: It was good to see some of the states basking in the limelight in the recently-concluded Kuala Lumpur Open at Kuala Lumpur Badminton (KLBA) Stadium.
Penang continued to show that they are one of the major contributor of talents for the country. They had a total of six champions, including young star Goh Jin Wei in the girls’ singles.
The others were Tee Jing Yi, Chan Peng Soon, Lim Ming Chuen, Cheah Yee See and Chua Keh Yep. Except for Jin Wei and Ming Chuen, the others are already in the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) national set-up.
Ming Chuen teamed up with Chan Ren Cong of Perak to score an upset win over Bukit Jalil Sports School’s (BJSS) Chen Jia Huo-Goh Sze Fei to win the boys’ doubles title in Division Two.
Selangor’s Misbun Ramdan Misbun, who left the BAM set-up after winning the national title in January, certainly added spice to the men’s singles event in Division One. With him constantly on the heels of the seniors, the event will continue to be an interesting affair on the local front.
It was also refreshing to see underdogs like Yee See-Norshahida Baharum showing great determination to upstage top seeds and the more fancied players Joyce Choong Wai Chi-Yap Cheng Wen for the girls’ doubles title in Division Two.
At least, there are some healthy rivalry going on among the BJSS players.
There was also an overwhelming response in the men’s singles event in Division Two with 192 players taking part. The players had to go through five rounds before making it to the quarter-finals.
The huge interest in the boys’ singles, which was eventually won by Soo Teck Zhi, shows that there are many keen to become like world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei and are hoping for their big break to enter the national team.
The only blotch during the KL Open was the poor quality in judging.
Second seed Liew Daren was faulted five times by the service judge and twice by the linesmen in his quarter-final match against Tan Kian Ming. He lost his cool and also his match.
“This is the worst experience that I have had in a local tournament. I protested but nothing was done. I just hope in future the organisers will look into this matter. It is really very demoralising to lose in this manner. The court officials should also do their part to lift the profile of local tournaments,” said Daren after the defeat.
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