PETALING JAYA: Winning gold would have been the ultimate reward, but securing back-to-back silver medals is still no small achievement.
Women’s doubles shuttler Low Zi Yu admitted to having mixed feelings after falling short once again in her bid for the world junior title at the World Junior Championships in Guwahati, India, which concluded on Sunday.
Still, finishing runners-up for the second year in a row is something she can take pride in.
It also marks a new milestone for Malaysia in the girls’ doubles event, as no other players have achieved this feat before.
For the record, since the tournament’s inception in 1992, only three Malaysian pairs have managed to win silver in the girls’ doubles event — starting with Pearly Tan-Toh Ee Wei at the 2018 edition in Markham, followed by Zi Yu and her original partner Dania Sofea Zaidi last year in Nanchang.
This time, however, Zi Yu could not partner Dania, who was sidelined by an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury a month before the tournament.
She teamed up with Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan in what was seen as an experimental pairing, but the duo still managed to fight their way to the final.
Luck was not on their side as Zi Yu and Noraqilah fell narrowly 13-15, 17-19 to China’s Tan Kexuan and Wei Yueyue.
It was a repeat of last year’s script, when Zi Yu-Dania went down to Japan’s Ririna Hiramoto-Aya Tamaki in the final.
“We didn’t play very well, and I think our opponents performed better,” said Zi Yu.
“I’m still happy to win silver, although getting the gold would have been even better.
Although her dream remains unfulfilled this time, Zi Yu still has the opportunity to compete in three more editions of the World Junior Championships, as she is only 15 years old.
As for Noraqilah, although this was her final appearance at the World Juniors, she can take pride in finishing her campaign with two medals — including a bronze in the mixed doubles with Loh Zi Heng.
