DTN News: Yonex Sunrise Badminton Asia Youth Under 19 Championships – Few Surprises At Team Kick-off

DTN News: Yonex Sunrise Badminton Asia Youth Under 19 Championships – Few Surprises At Team Kick-off *Source: DTN News / Badminton Association of Malaysia (NSI News Source Info) KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - July 14, 2009: The 2009 Yonex Sunrise Asia Junior Championship started with the team event in Stadium Juara, Bukit Kiara, Malaysia. Most of the top teams had easy victories in the morning sessions with scores of 5-0 including China, Malaysia and Korea. In fact, all of the ties in the morning session ended with results of either 5-0 or 4-1. Malaysia's up-and-coming hopeful, Sonia Cheah (pictured), was fielded in the tie against Mongolia and the young 16-year-old won very convincingly, 21-1, 21-4. Sonia said that she played well in the match and that she hopes to play well in her first AJC. She will also be playing in women doubles but prefer women singles. Sonia's sister, Lydia, was also there to support her. Besides that, a few seniors were also in the stadium including Indonesia Open 2009 champions Wong Pei Tty and Chin Eei Hui as well as recently graduated junior champions Ng Hui Lin, Lim Khim Wah and Teo Kok Siang. Things got a bit more interesting in the afternoon session with better competition, closer fights and more three-game matches. Surprise came from the Thailand vs. Singapore tie when Porntip Buranaprasertsuk (pictured) lost to Chen Jia Yuan in straight sets, 16-21, 16-21 in 30 minutes. Chen was playing aggressively and it was tight in the first game but Chen played better towards the end of the first game to win quite convincingly 21-16. In the second game, Chen got off to a flying start with an 8-2 lead. Porntip managed to narrow the gap at 8-12 and even had a smash which hit Chen's body followed by apologies from Porntip. However, Chen was the better player in that match with strong smashes and attacks which allowed her to win the 2nd set as well. However, Thailand is still stronger generally and they beat Singapore 4-1 eventually.

Malaysia had to play 3 games in all their matches in the evening session except for women's singles, where Tee Jing Yi had an easy 21-8, 21-10 win. Zainuddin Iskandar Zulkarnain needed 3 games to beat Vietnam’s Le Ha Anh 18-21, 21-9, 21-16. Lai Shevon Jemie / Goh Jian Hao lost their match to Vu Thi Trang (B) / Bui Quang Tuan. Malaysia secured their victory through their men's doubles and eventually won 4-1. The day ended with a Malaysian players group meeting with their coaches (pictured) followed by applause by the players showing their appreciation for that day and support for the next matches in the tournament.

Yonex-Sunrise sponsore of BWF World Championships Super Series

For complete Day 1 results from the 2009 Yonex Sunrise Asia Youth U19 Badminton Championships, please Click here