BADMINTON
Cheers Age-Group (Doubles) Championships 2007
Saturday, 8 December 07 at the Singapore Badminton Hall
Story by David Lee.
After a fascinating round of semi-finals which witnessed some top seeds ousted by unheralded opponents, normal service resumed as most of the remaining seeded players triumphed in the finals of the Cheers Age-Group (Doubles) Championships 2007.
Wu Song Jian (left) and Kenneth Seah paired up to win the Under-11 Doubles Championship title. Photo from Singapore Badminton Association.
In the Boys' Doubles Under-11 category, Li Zheng Xi and Eng Chin An had already beaten second seeds Sng Ming Wei and Alistaire Chua to make it to the finals and were looking for a repeat of their fine form against top seeds Wu Song Jian and Kenneth Seah from the Singapore Badminton School.
Both teams belied their tender ages by displaying a fine mix of fitness, finesse and fierce desire to win. As the crowd willed the players on, they were in turn charmed by some spectacular diving recoveries and fine angled smashes from the talented boys. After some impressive rallies, Wu and Seah won the first set of an evenly contested set 21-18.
In the second set, Li and Eng sensed a possible upset when they reeled back two points to narrow the gap to 17-19. However, a controversial line call in Wu and Seah's favour brought the game to match-point, which they duly converted to bring home the winner's medals.
After the match, the disconsolate Eng was a stark contrast to the cheery Seah. The fierce, fist-pumping character displayed on court gave way to a shy persona off it. Seah, in particular was reticent when asked about what he thought of the game. But he did let in on his post-match celebrations when he revealed with a grin: "I'm going to eat some big fish!"
Fans who were anticipating more upsets after Friday's semi-finals were not all disappointed. There was one giant-killing act on the final day of competition, which happened in the Girls' Under-15 category where the unseeded Singapore Sports School's pairing of Toh Siew Fen and Tan Wei Han recovered from one set down to overcome top seeds Valerie Lim and Charmain Cheang 17-21, 21-16, 21-17 in 32 minutes.
Despite taking the first set, Lim and Cheang were visibly tiring out fast after some fast paced action. Toh and Tan began to pull their opponents into the different corners of the court. This tactic worked wonders as Lim and Cheang began to snatch at easy shots. Although the top seeds rallied for a brief fightback, they finally succumbed in three sets.
Toh attributed the gutsy upset to the team's never-say-die attitude, preferring to "try our best and not think about the result while playing".
It was another three sets adventure over at the Boys' Under-15 Doubles where the top two seeds battled it out. Top seeds Chay Sai Kin and Alton Chew from ACS (I) pipped second seeds Chay Jun Yang and Jamie Wong from Keat Youngsters to the first set 24-22, utilizing some clever position play to overcome a 9-11 deficit at one stage.
With their supporters greeting every point won with deafening cheers, the boys from Keat Youngsters then stepped up a gear to take the next two sets 21-18, completing a remarkable turnaround after 32 minutes of quality badminton.
The Men's Open Doubles provided a rousing finale to a successful championship. Defending champions and third seeds Rocky N.A. and Aman Santosa from Team Silver Gray survived three sets before emerging victors for the second consecutive year, beating Erwin Djohan and Satya Adi Nugroho from Winner's Badminton Club in a 45 minutes action-packed final.
Both teams threw caution to the wind with convincing cross-court smashes and delightful defensive returns. From the get-go, both teams were separated only by a hair's breadth. Scores were tied at 11-11, 14-14, 19-19, 22-22, before two errors from Djohan and Adi Nugroho gifted Team Silver Gray the first set.
Djohan and Adi Nugroho then displayed their mettle by racing off to a 11-4 lead in the second set before comfortably seeing off Team Silver Gray's challenge in an easy 21-10 win.
The third set had the crowd on the edges of their seats. As shouts of encouragement from both sets of supporters filled the hall, the two sets of players did not fail to serve up some brilliant badminton which went into a nerve-wracking tie-break at 20-20.
Djohan's plea for a foul serve by Santosa went unheeded by the umpire and at 20-21 match-point, an attempted smash rebounded off the net, ending their valiant attempt to upset the defending champions.
Post-match, a relieved Rocky laughed when asked about his thoughts about his opponents' gamesmanship in such a tight game.
"It is all part of the game. When we were down, all we thought of was catching up and we're so happy to win again."
This year's Cheers Age Group (Doubles) championships saw over 3,000 fans and supporters attending the six days event which carries a prize purse of more than S$13,000.
men doubles matches were exciting!