Among the many junior tournaments held during the Merdeka period, this one organised by Looi Badminton Academy was a class act. It was held in the Sports Arena, Bandar Mahkota Cheras.
Aaron opened his campaign with an easy victory in the first round and received a walkover in his second round. In the third round he met Thaanesh Devae again whom has defeated Ryan earlier on. So Aaron exacted revenge for his brother in a tense 21 – 12, 18 – 21, 21 – 18 win over the Malaccan player. Their head to head favours Aaron 2 to 1 now.
BOYS DOUBLES U12
The boys loved this tournament because they can collect RM2.00 per game for being a voluntary linesman. Not bad considering the entrance fee was only RM20 per person with a free Protech T-shirt for all participants. The empires were qualified BAM professionals and conducted the games in best of 3 games of 21 points. Yes, Protech sponsored shuttles were also a plenty. Scores were updated in the Tournament Software which was easily accessible in the net any time & anywhere. The scheduling was also right on the dot. With a large entry including Men's Open category with no restriction to state players, this was the closest you can get to the National Junior Circuit standard.
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| Aaron putting up a steller performance in the last 16 |
In the last 16, Aaron was up against another Malaccan state player who was the tournament joint ¾ seed Yong Bin Yan. I told Aaron to go all out because he has nothing to lose in this game. All out he went. Aaron played one of his best games I have seen. He stretched Yong Bin Yan to 3 games before bowing out but it was an encouraging performance he has displayed.
On the second day, the brothers opened their U12 doubles campaign against the twins of Roslan & Roslin. So it was a contest of siblings vs siblings. Ryan/Aaron won in straight sets to enter the last sixteen to meet the Selangor duo of Muazaam Danish/Edmund On. The last I have seen Muazaam was about 3 to 4 months ago, but here he has grown much taller and so much stronger in his smashes. The brothers led early in the game until in the final critical moment they lost their nerves and committed strings of unforced errors to go down 18 – 21, 21 - 23. They were so close to take the scalps of the Selangor state players.
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| Ryan cashing in |
Ryan’s defeat was quickly forgotten as he was preoccupied with his vocation as a linesman. Over the two days, he has recouped the cost of the tournament fees. However our Merdeka cheer was somewhat dampened when later that evening, Datuk Lee Chong Wei lost to Chen Long in the World Championship final in Copenhagen. It was his third successive failure to claim the World Champion title. The first two having lost to Lin Dan, many are sceptical if Datuk will ever nail this elusive title.
Having played 3 weekly tournaments in a row, the boys will now take a step back to reflect on their progress and certainly for me, after having mulling for a while now, may very likely make some radical changes to their training arrangements.
Having played 3 weekly tournaments in a row, the boys will now take a step back to reflect on their progress and certainly for me, after having mulling for a while now, may very likely make some radical changes to their training arrangements.
BOYS SINGLES U12
1st Round - Ryan vs Bye
2nd Round – Ryan vs Thaanesh Devae 21 – 12, 18 – 21, 13 - 21
2nd Round – Aaron vs Ding Jing Xuan Walkover
3rd Round – Aaron vs Thaanesh Devae 21 – 12, 18 – 21, 21 - 18
4th Round – Aaron vs Yong Bin Yan (3/4) 21 – 18, 9 – 21, 14 – 21
1st Round – Ryan/Aaron vs Roslan/Roslin 21 – 18, 21 – 14
2nd Round – Ryan/Aaron vs Muazaam/Edmund 18 – 21, 21 – 23
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