BADMINTON
Cheers U-19 Youth International Badminton Championships 2007
Story by Christopher Ong.
Singapore Badminton Hall, December 19th, 2007 – The Cheers Youth International Badminton Championships is 18-year-old Ashton Chen's final age-group tournament, and the top-seeded player in the boys' Under-19 singles hopes to go out with a bang.
Coincidentally, this is the last event held at the historic Singapore Badminton Hall, giving Ashton further incentive to make it a memorable tournament.
Ashton said, "This is the last age-group event of my life, so hopefully I can finish as the champion. After this, I will be competing in the Satellite events."
He got off to a flying start, defeating Malaysian Sanjay Al Boss 21- 7, 21-8 in the second round. Ashton's superior technique was evident, and he combined powerful smashes with patient net-play to keep Boss on the back foot throughout the match. Ashton barely broke into a sweat during his comfortable win, which took a mere 17 minutes, and the calm-and-collected look on his face later said as much about the ease of his victory.
He said, "Even though my opponent wasn't very strong, I tried not to underestimate him. I just played my normal game."
Ashton is looking forward to meeting Adi Pratama of Indonesia in the third round. The two have met before in the team event of the World Junior Championship in New Zealand this year, with Ashton winning the rubber-set.
He said, "Adi is quite a strong opponent and I have a 50-50 chance of winning. But with home ground advantage, maybe I stand a slightly higher chance."
The match will be played tomorrow and perhaps Ashton can draw some inspiration from his hero Xia Xuan Ze of China, who won the World Championships and All-England Open before his retirement from the sport.
Ashton's easy victory aside, several other top-seeded players in the boys Under-19 singles event also proved too strong for their opponents.
Second-seeded Wong Wing Ki of Hong Kong defeated his Indonesian opponent Fery Julianto 21-9, 21-9, with Wong displaying his athleticism as he unleashed a series of fierce smashes that Julianto could do nothing about.
Meanwhile, third-seeded Singaporean Eugene Sng Jin Feng had a slightly tougher game as his opponent Christopher Rusdianto of Indonesia pushed him all the way in the first-set before eventually succumbing 21-17. Sng had an easier time in the second-set, which he won 21-11, as Rusdianto started to make more mistakes. For Sng who has missed the Cheers Youth International Badminton Championships for the past two years due to injury, he is hoping that he will be third-time lucky.
He said, "I'm just going to take it one step at a time, and treat all my opponents the same."
Another highlight was the boys' doubles Under-13 second-round match featuring the pairing of Julian Chee Yong Qin and Ho Huin Kit, who won the Under-13 event at the recent Cheers Age Group (Doubles) Championships. They showed their chemistry as they combined to defeat fellow Singaporeans Chung Tze Herng and Douglas Yuen Jai Qi 21-12, 21-15.
Chee also displayed remarkable fighting spirit as he dived to the ground to prevent his opponent from scoring a point, and managed to return the shot while lying flat on his stomach. Following his amazing save and subsequent point, his youthful exuberance was plain for all to see as he ran around in a circle, pumping his fist in celebration.
The spectators present at this event were equally amazing, with the very vocal Sri Lanka contingent making their presence felt whenever one of the Sri Lankans played. With the finals to come on Saturday, it is hoped that these supporters and more like-minded badminton lovers will once again contribute to what is sure to be an exciting atmosphere.
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