Aaron-Khai Xing intend to come back stronger after settling for silver

PETALING JAYA: Falling short of the gold medal hasn’t dampened the spirits of national boys’ doubles pair Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing as they settled for silver at the Asian Junior Championships in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, yesterday.

Aaron-Khai Xing finished runners-up after losing 13-21, 11-21 to China’s Hu Keyuan-Lin Xiangyi in the final at the Among Rogo Sports Hall.

“We will be back,” was Khai Xing’s short response after ending Malaysia’s medal drought in the boy’s doubles event at the championship.

The second-place finish was a long wait for Malaysia after Ow Yao Han-Yew Hong Kheng brought home silver at the 2009 edition in Kuala Lumpur, while Mak Hee Chun-Teo Kok Siang were the last to win gold in 2008, also on home ground.

National junior head coach Jeffer Rosobin praised the boys for their achievement but believes it was a missed opportunity for the duo.

“After 15 years, it’s a good result to get silver for the boy’s doubles. There was an opportunity to win, but Aaron-Khai Xing haven’t found consistency in their game yet,” he said.

Top seed Aaron-Khai Xing went into the final fixture looking to come out on top, given that they had won their previous two meetings with the fifth-seeded Chinese pair.

The Malaysians had defeated Keyuan-Xiangyi to win the Dutch Junior International in March, followed by another win against them at the German Junior quarter-finals the following week.

The world No. 80 pair followed up their maiden win by capturing their second title of the year and first senior tournament win at the Thailand International Challenge in March.

Besides the silver medal from Aaron-Khai Xing, Malaysia also brought home three bronze medals from Yogyakarta through girls’ singles shuttler Siti Zulaikha Azmi and girls’ doubles pair Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting, who both fell in the semi-finals.

FINAL RESULTS

Boys’ singles: Hu Zhean (Chn) bt Yoon Ho-seong (Kor) 13-21, 21-14, 21-14.

Boys’ doubles: Hu Keyuan-Lin Xiangyi (Chn) bt Aaron Tai-Kang Khai Xing (Mas) 21-13, 21-11.

Girls’ singles: Xu Wenjing (Chn) bt Yin Yiqing (Chn) 21-13, 21-15.

Girls’ doubles: Chen Fangshutian-Liu Jiayue (Chn) bt Kim Min-ji-Yeon Seo-yeon (Kor) 21-11, 21-15.

Mixed doubles: Lin Xiangyi-Liu Yuanyuan (Chn) bt Darren Aurelius-Bernadine Anindya (Ina) 21-12, 21-13.