PETALING JAYA: The girls’ doubles pair of Low Zi Yu-Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan will have the chance to salvage Malaysia’s campaign at the World Junior Championships in Guwahati, India, when they vie for the gold medal in the final on Sunday (Oct 19).
Zi Yu-Noraqilah fought tooth and nail to secure their spot in the title match after edging China’s Cao Zihan-Chen Fan Shutian 15-13, 12-15, 15-7 in a hard-fought 46-minute semi-final on Saturday (Oct 18).
It was also a form of redemption for Noraqilah, who had earlier suffered disappointment in the mixed doubles after she and Loh Zi Heng fell to Taiwan’s Hung Bing-fu-Chou Yun-an 15-13, 12-15, 8-15.
The defeat came as a surprise as top seeds Zi Heng-Noraqilah had beaten the same Taiwanese duo twice just last week at the world junior mixed team championships.
As for Zi Yu, today’s final against another Chinese pair, Tan Kexuan-Wei Yuexue, will be her chance to make amends for last year’s heartbreak when she finished runners-up with Dania Sofea Zaidi.
"I’ve played against Fan Shu three times before, so I was able to read her game better today (yesterday).
"I tried to stay more focused and we eventually won. In the final, I will try to be tactical against the Chinese pair.
"I lost in the final last year, so this time I’ll give my very best to win the gold medal for my country," said Zi Yu.
SEMI-FINAL RESULTS
Boys' singles: Mohd Zaki Ubaidillah (Ina) bt Li Zhi Hang (Chn) 14-16, 16-14, 15-12; Liu Yang Ming (Chn) bt Richie Duta Richardo (Ina) 15-7, 10-15, 15-13.
Girls' singles: Tanvi Sharma (Ind) bt Liu Si Ya (Chn) 15-11, 15-9; Anyapat Phichitpreechasak (Tha) bt Yataweemin Ketklieng (Tha) 10-15, 15-11, 15-5.
Boys' doubles: Cho Hyeong-woo-Lee Hyeong-woo (Kor) bt Kazuma Kawano-Shuji Sawada (Jpn) 13-15, 15-11, 15-8.
Girls' doubles: Tan Ke Xuan-Wei Yue Yue (Chn) bt Kodchaporn Chaichana-Pannawee Polyiam (Tha) 17-15, 11-15, 15-10; Low Zi Yu-Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan (Mas) bt Cao Zi Han-Chen Fan Shu (Chn) 15-13, 12-15, 15-7.
Mixed doubles: Hung Bing-fu-Chou Yun-an (Tpe) bt Loh Ziheng-Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan (Mas) 13-15, 15-12, 15-8; Lee Hyeong-woo-Cheon Hye-in (Kor) bt Chen Jun-ting-Cao Zi-han (Chn) 15-6, 16-14.
