Two titles in the bag and five more up for grabs in Pattaya

Solid form: Aira Azman beat teammate Yee Xin Ying 11-8, 8-11, 11-8, 12-14, 11-4 to reach the Under-19 final where she will meet Hong Kong’s Kirstie Wong today.

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia are on a purple patch in the Asian Junior Championships as two titles are already in the bag and there’s more to come when the finals are staged in Pattaya today.

The boys’ Under-13 and Under-15 provided the early cheers where both events will feature all-Malaysian final encounters today while the Malaysia also made it to five other finals.

The girls’ Under-15 is the only category out of eight where Malaysia will not have a final representative.

In the boys’ Under-13, Raziq Putra Fakhrur Razi defeated Shiven Agarwal of India 11-13, 11-7, 11-9, 11-5 while Sim Yeak Wei beat another Indian player S. Lokesh 11-4, 11-3, 11-8 in the semi-finals to confirm the crown for Malaysia.

In the boys’ Under-15 semi-finals, M. Nickhileswar secured a hard-earned 14-12, 11-8, 7-11, 7-11, 11-8 win over Lee Jong-hyeok of South Korea to confirm the title for Malaysia. The other final spot was earlier secured by Aqil Mirza Khairil Fariz who overcame Altamis Aqhar Sallam Sufian 12-10, 9-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-4 in an all-Malaysian semi-final clash.

In the boys’ Under-19, Joachim Chuah overcame compatriot C. Ameeshanraj 8-11, 11-9, 11-9, 3-11, 12-10 to set up a shodown against Noor Zaman of Pakistan.

The Under-17 saw Low Wa Sern overcome Sharan Punjabi of India 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 11-4 but South Korean Na Joo-young denied another all-Malaysian final when he edged Harith Daniel 11-6, 11-4, 14-12 in the last four.

In the girls’ Under-19, Aira Azman defeated teammate Yee Xin Ying 11-8, 8-11, 11-8, 12-14, 11-4 to reach the final where she will meet Kirstie Wong of Hong Kong today.

Kirstie halted an early title for Malaysia when she outplayed Wong Heng Wai 11-7, 11-8, 11-7 in the last four.

Malaysia can also rely on Goh Zhi Xuan and Harleein Tan for honours in the girls’ Under-17 and Under-13 respectively.

National assistant head coach Andrew Cross was overjoyed with the success of the players in Pattaya.

“”Two titles in the bag and five more up for grabs. We have nine players in the final in total. It’s been a good day for us,” said Cross.

“But there are some hard matches tomorrow (today). Joachim will have it tough against Zaman, Hopefully, some of the finals will turn out well for us.

“What we did in 2019 was good and if we can match that, that will be a good achievement. Let’s see what happens tomorrow.”

Malaysia secured five of the eight titles in the Asian Juniors in Macau in 2019.

It was a pity that Malaysia failed to reach the final of the girls’ Under-15 as Anahat Singh of India beat Whitney Isabelle Wilson 11-6, 11-4, 11-4 in the last four.

SEMI-FINAL RESULTS

Boys

Under-19: Joachim Chuah bt C Ameeshanraj 8-11, 11-9, 11-9, 3-11, 12-10 ; Noor Zaman (Pak) bt Andrik Lim 11-8, 11-4, 11-6.

Under-17: Low Wa Sern bt Sharan Punjabi (Ind) 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 11-4; Na Joo-young (Kor) bt Harith Daniel 11-6, 11-4, 14-12.

Under-15: Aqil Mirza Khairil Fariz bt Altamis Aqhar Sallam Sufian 12-10, 9-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-4; M. Nickhileswar bt Lee Jong-hyeok (Kor) 14-12, 11-8, 7-11, 7-11, 11-8.

Under-13: Raziq Putra Fakhrur Razi bt Shiven Agarwal (Ind) 11-13, 11-7, 11-9, 11-5; Sim Yeak Wei bt S. Lokesh (Ind) 11-4, 11-3, 11-8.

Girls

Under-19: Aira Azman bt Yee Xin Ying 11-8, 8-11, 11-8, 12-14, 11-4; Kirstie Wong (HK) bt Wong Heng Wai 11-7, 11-8, 11-7.

Under-17: Akari Midorikawa (Jpn) bt Tiana Parasrampuria (Ind) 11-2 11-5 11-9; Goh Zhi Xuan bt Velerie Huang (HK) 4-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-8.

Under-15: Anahat Singh (Ind) bt Whitney Isabelle Wilson 11-6, 11-4, 11-4; Ena Kwong (HK) bt Cheung Tsz Ching 11-6, 11-6, 11-5.

Under-13: Harleein Tan bt Yek Rui Jean 11-9, 11-7, 11-3; Chloe Lo (HK) bt Anika Dubey (Ind) 11-4, 11-6, 11-9.