June’s august run

One for the album: The Malaysian men’s team posing with their silver medals at the Asia Team Championship in Manila yesterday.

KUALA LUMPUR: It was indeed a tournament to remember for Cheam June Wei.

The 23-year-old made a lasting impression in the Asia Team Championships when he stunned world No. 7 and Asian Games champion Jonatan Christie 16-21,21-17,24-22 in 68 minutes in a final battle between a relatively young Malaysian team and fancied Indonesia at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila yesterday.

June Wei’s win revived hopes of a sensational comeback against the top seeds but his valiant effort was in vain as Malaysia eventually went down 1-3 to Indonesia in the men’s team final.

Before June Wei’s superb effort, Malaysia were down 0-2 following the defeats of Lee Zii Jia and Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, who went down fighting to Anthony Ginting and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo - with identical scores of 20-22,16-21 respectively.

Teo Ee Yi-Ong Yew Sin tried to keep the momentum going after June Wei’s upset win but they found scratch pair Mohd Ahsan-Fajar Alfian too hot to handle and went down 18-21,17-21.

But the day and the tournament certainly belonged to the world No. 72 June Wei.

The win against Jonatan was his third big scalp in the Asia meet, having beaten Son Wan-ho of South Korea (quarter-finals) and Kenta Nishimoto of Japan (semi-finals) to keep his unbeaten run in the team event.

June Wei called the moment of reckoning as the breakthrough that he had been yearning for.

“This is a breakthrough for me, I’ve upset three top players, this tournament will always be special, ” said a delighted June Wei.

“It was great playing against Jonatan and the other top players. I’ve learnt something from each one of them, and I hope to improve from here.

“I played calmly under pressure and won - this has given me loads of confidence. Now, I know where is my level against these players.

“Next, I want to do well in individual tournaments. I want to work even harder to break into the world’s top 20-30 standings by this year, ” said June Wei, whose previous best achievement was winning the Malaysia International Challenge last year. National coaching director Wong Choong Hann was brimming with pride over the boys’ fighting display against Indonesia.

“Overall, the boys played brilliantly, there were surprises, and they have shown fighting spirit.

“Despite being a new team, they showed composure, ” said Choong Hann.

“We lost 1-3 to a stronger and more experienced team but our showing showed that we are growing and getting nearer to their level. I’m happy with their progress.

“I’m specially pleased with Cheam, this is a good breakthrough for him. He shone in this tournament and I hope he will have more self-belief.

“He will continue to show the same dedication in training every day and bring more glory for Malaysia, ” he added.

With the fine showing in the Asian meet, Malaysia can certainly look forward with more optimism towards the Thomas Cup Finals from May 19-24 in Aarhus, Denmark.