PETALING JAYA: Newly crowned Asian junior champion Low Zi Yu was left with mixed emotions after missing out on a second gold medal at the Asian Junior Championships in Japan.
Zi Yu ended Malaysia’s 19-year wait for the mixed doubles title after she and Ahmad Redzuan Zulwaqqarizal defeated China’s Zheng Weigang-Li Menghan 21-15, 22-20 in the final.
But the Johor-born could not complete a golden double after settling for bronze in the girl’s doubles with Genevie Lim.
Their title hopes were dashed by Japan’s Aoi Banno-Yuzu Ueno, who came from behind to win 16-21, 21-17, 21-17 in the semi-finals before going on to lift the title.
“I’m happy, but at the same time there’s a little disappointment because I had set my sights quite high before the tournament. I felt we had a good chance of winning the gold, but we lost in the semi-finals.
“It’s okay. I see it as part of the learning process. We’ll come back stronger next time,” said Zi Yu.
Despite her success in Japan, Zi Yu is not setting any targets for the World Junior Championships in Cairo from Oct 5-17, where she is expected to represent Malaysia.
She has twice fallen just short of the title, finishing runner-up with Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan in Guwahati, India, last year and with Dania Sofea Zaidi in Nanchang, China, the year before.
“I don’t want to set my expectations too high because I don’t want my partner or myself to feel pressured. Of course we want to win a medal, but for now we just want to focus on playing our best and see how things go.”
Zi Yu and Genevie’s bronze-medal finish was still commendable considering they were paired together only a few days before leaving for Japan.
“I think my partnership with Zi Yu went well even though we had only a short time to train together,” added Genevie, who returned home with the rest of squad yesterday.
