PETALING JAYA: Kong Wei Xiang (pic) may not have stepped onto court at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, but the experience of being there still gave him plenty to take into the World Junior Championships in Cairo.
Wei Xiang was one of four men’s singles players named in the squad for the Asian Games team event, but as one of the youngest and least experienced members, he remained on the sidelines as Malaysia went on to lose to Indonesia in the quarter-finals.
His role in Cairo, however, has been very different.
Wei Xiang is leading Malaysia in the mixed team event and has made a good start, delivering in both group matches against Slovenia and Poland.
He beat Slovenia’s Matic Cerar 11-9 before overcoming Poland’s Jakub Mazurek by the same scoreline yesterday in the relay format as Malaysia finished top of Group A1.
For Wei Xiang, one of the biggest lessons from the Asian Games was never to underestimate an opponent and to keep fighting until the match is over.
That was driven home by Leong Jun Hao’s win over Jonatan Christie in Malaysia’s quarter-final clash against Indonesia.
Jonatan went into the match as the world No. 1, but Jun Hao, who had been struggling for form beforehand, pulled off the upset to give Malaysia a valuable point before they eventually went down 2-3.
“I saw how strong the fighting spirit was among my senior teammates at the Asian Games, and even those supporting from the sidelines showed the same spirit.
“I watched Leong Jun Hao play against Jonatan. He had lost quite a few matches before that, but he prepared really well and managed to upset Jonatan,” said Wei Xiang.
As Group A1 winners, Malaysia will face Group A2 champions the United States in the playoff for a place in the quarter-finals.
Expectations are high for the national squad to challenge for a medal this time, having entered the tournament as the top seeds.
