KUALA LUMPUR: It was doubles joy for Malaysia as the paddlers swept both the mixed doubles and women's doubles titles in the South-East Asia Table Tennis Championships in Kuala Lumpur.
Javen Choong and Karen Lyne smashed their way past Singapore's fancied pair Koen Pang Yew En-Ser Lin Qian 3-1 (11-9, 8-11, 11-4, 15-13) in the mixed doubles final at the Malaysia Sepaktakraw Academy to deliver Malaysia's first gold medal of the championship.
The victory came at a timely moment for Javen, who admitted he had been feeling nervous and lacking confidence before the tournament.
The 15-13 fourth-set finish was not without nerves, however, with Javen admitting he and Karen felt the pressure when closing out the match.
"Winning this gold boosts my confidence. Before the tournament, I was still not very confident and felt nervous. After this, I think I can play with more confidence," said national No. 1 singles player Javen after the match.
"I think the first three sets were okay, but in the last set, when we were close to winning, we became a bit nervous and our hands were tight. Overall, I would say our performance was average," he said.
Javen-Karen had stopped another Singaporean pair Loy Ming Ying-Loy Xing Yao 5-11, 11-7, 11-5, 5-11, 14-12 in the semi-finals earlier in the day.
For Javen, the gold also helped erase some of the disappointment from the men's doubles semi-final 2-3 defeat (11-6, 7-11, 9-11, 14-12, 7-11) to Singapore's Yew En-Josh Chua, which he believes can serve as a lesson before he turns his attention to the singles.
"I lost in the men's doubles earlier but that was a good lesson for me and I will try to improve in the singles," he said.
There were more celebrations for the Malaysian team as Karen partnered Tee Ai Xin to overcome Indonesians Almaira Nebuchadnezzar-Siti Aminah 3-1 (12-10, 11-8, 8-11, 11-1).
Karen-Ai Xin overcame Vietnamese challengers Hoang Tra My-Tran Mai Ngoc 11-9, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7 to advance to the women's doubles final earlier.
RESULTS
Mixed doubles final: Javen Choong-Karen Lyne (Mas) bt Koen Pang-Ser Lin Qian (Sin) 11-9, 8-11, 11-4, 15-13.
Women's doubles final: Karen Lyne-Tee Ai Xin (Mas) bt Almaira Nebuchadnezzar-Siti Aminah (Ina) 12-10, 11-8, 8-11, 11-1.
