SHAH ALAM: When the odds were stacked against Kedah, captain Loh Zi Heng knew he had to play his cards right.
The 19-year-old shuttler came up with the right strategy, shuffling his players and tweaking tactics to help a depleted Kedah side stay alive in the Malaysia Games (Sukma) men’s team badminton event at Setia City Convention Centre.
The tactical gamble paid off as Kedah edged Perak 3-2 yesterday to book a place in the semi-finals.
Zi Heng, in just his second Games, has had to think beyond his years to give his team a fighting chance as they start every match at a disadvantage.
“We are short one pair, so every game starts with us 1-0 down,” he said after the match. “We have to put in 200 percent for the remaining four matches.”
The captain, who plays in the mixed doubles event for the national set-up, proved his willingness to give everything for his state when he chose to feature in the deciding singles match against Perak’s Leong Di Shan.
“We noticed they (Perak) were stronger in singles, so we came up with a strategy to swap our players,” he said.
Despite an initial scare in the first game, the gamble paid off as Ziheng was able to win the match 6-21, 21-15, 21-12.
Kedah will face Penang next while the Federal Territories and Melaka take on each other in the other semi-final.
Zi Heng will be back to his preferred event when he takes to the court partnering Teh Si Yan in the individual mixed doubles event from Friday.
