On fire: Ong Yew Sin (left) celebrating with Teo Ee Yi after storming into the semi-finals. — Badminton Photo
PETALING JAYA: The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) are open to recalling high-riding independent pair Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi to beef up the national squad for major team tournaments next year if they continue to produce top results.
World No. 12 Yew Sin-Ee Yi showed that they are still one of the best men’s doubles pairs in the country by storming into the semi-finals of the World Championships in Huelva, Spain, on Friday.
They gunned down Olympic Games champions Lee Yang-Wang Chi-lin of Taiwan 12-21, 21-17, 21-15 to ensure Malaysia won’t return home empty-handed in their second successive world meet. It’s their first world meet as professionals.
Yew Sin-Ee Yi’s brilliant feat ended the nation’s 11-year wait for a medal in the men’s doubles event since Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong clinched silver in Paris 2010.
Yew Sin-Ee Yi, who were dropped by the BAM last year, have shown tremendous improvement and have been on fire.
Prior to the world meet, Yew Sin-Ee Yi had reached the semi-finals of the Indonesian Masters and World Tour Finals in Bali.
They also fared no worse than a quarter-final in three of the other four World Tour legs since its resumption at the Denmark Open.
BAM secretary Datuk Kenny Goh said the door would always be open to independent shuttlers to represent the country because the selectors would look for the strongest team available for major tournaments.
Asked if Yew Sin-Ee Yi could make a return to the Thomas Cup squad next May following their omission in the Aarhus edition last October, Kenny said: “It’s obviously quite premature to say anything at this juncture but if they continue to play well, the possibility (of calling them up) is there.
“Next year is going to be a busy year and the Thomas Cup is not the only major event.
“There’s also the multi-sport Games such as the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, where team events are contested.
“We will always bring the best players to represent the country.”
This year, the BAM’s decision to send a young squad yielded success in the Sudirman Cup in Finland (mixed team) when the team led by Lee Zii Jia and Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik took bronze for their first podium finish in 12 years.
However, they failed to produce the same result in the Thomas Cup Finals as they were ousted in the quarter-finals. It was worse in the Uber Cup Finals as they did not clear the group stage.
