Proud moment: The Under-16 boys’ and girls’ champions Kedah and Penang posing with their mock cheques.
PETALING JAYA: Shuttler Kee Is Qian turned hero for Kedah as the northern state dethroned Selangor to win the Under-16 boys’ title at the National Inter-state team championships.
Kedah upstaged defending champions Selangor 2-0 in the final at the PBA Badminton Hall in Bukit Dumbar, Penang, on Sunday, and they have Is Qian to thank for.
When it mattered the most, Is Qian rose to the occasion to end the fine run of Branson Hee in the singles with a hard-fought 20-22, 21-11, 21-14 win in 85 minutes.
The fancied Branson had won all his matches en route to the final.
In the boys’ doubles, Louis Tan Hom-Loh Ziheng played their part to perfection to help team secure the title by outplaying Tiew Wei Jie-Tiew Yi Cheng 21-17, 21-18.
Perak settled for the third place after edging Penang 2-1 in the bronze-medal match.
In the girls’ category, Penang encountered a tough start when national shuttler Oo Shan Zi struggled to deliver a strong performance after going down 21-13, 19-21, 17-21 to Dania Sofea Zaidi in 80 minutes.
However, things took a positive turn when Christine Lam Mei He-Nicole Tan Pei En revitalised their team’s chances after securing a 21-12, 21-15 victory over S. Hasyni Devid-E Yun Lai, bringing the overall score to a 1-1 tie.
Lim Zhi Shin took on the crucial task of delivering the winning point, and she admirably rose to the occasion, refusing to succumb to the pressure and delivered her A-game to defeat Low Zi Yu 16-21, 21-12, 23-21 to help her team win.
Selangor put up a formidable fight to finish third by narrowly defeating Kuala Lumpur 2-1 in the bronze-medal match.
