PETALING JAYA: Not many players could have done what Low Zi Yu has in her pursuit of becoming a world junior champion, reaching three straight finals with a different partner each year.
National junior women’s doubles coach Amelia Anscelly is proud of Zi Yu’s determination after she refused to give up despite falling short in the final in the previous two editions.
Amelia believes reaching three consecutive World Junior Championships finals with different partners showed Zi Yu’s courage and mental strength, and she was delighted to see her finally win the gold medal alongside Genevie Lim, a partnership formed only four months ago.
Zi Yu-Genevie defeated Japan’s Nijika Kamata-Shizuku Kashio 15-7, 9-15, 15-12 in a closely fought final at the Cairo International Stadium on Saturday.
"The had the right mindset. They were nervous, of course, but they showed a lot of resilience and mental strength, so I felt they deserved to win the gold medal," said Amelia.
"This is Zi Yu’s third year at the world junior meet. She has been very consistent and brave enough to take on the challenge with different partners, and I think she has done very well.
Amelia also praised Genevie, saying the 18-year-old has complemented Zi Yu well on court despite the pair only being brought together this year.
Genevie first partnered Zi Yu at the Asian Junior Championships in Yatsushiro, Japan, where they won a bronze medal.
Zi Yu then shifted her focus to senior tournaments, while Genevie played with different partners after returning to the national set-up following the tournament in Japan.
"Credit also goes to Genevie for being able to keep up with Zi Yu. I think both of them played very well throughout the tournament. The mentality and character they showed were excellent, and they deserved this medal," added Amelia.
Zi Yu first etched her name in Malaysian badminton when she reached the 2024 world junior final in Nanchang with Dania Sofea Zaidi, before the pair lost to Japan’s Ririna Hiramoto-Aya Tamaki.
A year later, Dania suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury to her left knee just a month before the next edition in Guwahati, India.
That left Zi Yu having to form a last-minute partnership with Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan, but they still managed to reach the final before losing to China’s Tan Kexuan-Wei Yueyue.
Now, after two near misses, Zi Yu finally has the gold she had been chasing after becoming Malaysia’s first girls’ doubles world junior champion together with Genevie.
