Golden shuttlers win silver in China teams event
A GROUP of Malaysian senior shuttlers rose to the occasion amid fierce competition to take home silver at the 14th World Chinese Badminton Federation (WCBF) Team Championship.
The event in XinChang, ZheJiang province, saw eight-member all-Malaysian Team NZPAL place second in the men's doubles team event in the 70-74 age category.
NZPAL, headed by Stephen Tan, managed to upset the Chinese home team in the semi-finals, heading to the finals against Team NZ70+ with players from Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia.
The championship had attracted 692 teams, with more than 4,500 players in various age categories ranging from 18 to 70+ years.
NZPAL, comprising seasoned campaigner Chan Wan Seong as well as Chua Koh Keong, Ricky Kong, Chong Yew Chzon, Neoh Cheong Kooi, Ong Sin Oong and Dr Goh Kim Chuan, qualified through the group stages after playing three matches.
In the elimination stage, the team had to play three 31-point men's doubles knockout matches to advance to the final.
The semi-finals saw NZPAL facing a strong team from China but they managed a 2-1 win.
Kong and Neoh lost the first match while Chan and Chua, the reigning 2024 WCBF men's doubles 70-74 Champions, won the second to tie the score.
'We played under tremendous mental and physical pressure, neck-and-neck with the opposing pair, with the lead changing hands and no more than three or four points separating us.
'At the halfway stage, the China pair was leading 16-12.
'We fought to tie at 25-25 and we managed to power ahead to win 31-27 after a tense and thrilling contest,' Chan said.
In the deciding third match, underdogs Chong and Dr Goh defended superbly against their opponents' constant attack, winning 31-24.
In the finals played 15 minutes after the semi-finals, Tan said the team unfortunately was a spent force after playing five matches on the same day.
They faced Team NZ70+, favourites to win, and lost 0-3.
Tan said the Malaysian team played with courage and gave their all in making it to the final to take silver.
'It is not easy to find Malaysian players in the 70-74 years category who are still playing competitively,' he said.
'Most of the players had not partnered with each other regularly, forming scratch pairs to participate in this tournament.'
Participating in the 3P220 event, a three-shuttler team event with an aggregate age of 220 years, Tan topped the category alongside teammates Hartono and Fritz Manaiky from Indonesia.
He won another gold as a member of the NZ75 men's doubles team event, consisting of shuttlers from other countries.
Just a week prior to the WCBF Team Championships, 71-year-old Chan participated in the All-England Senior Badminton Championships held in Hatfield, the United Kingdom.
In his quarter-final match, Chan lost to seeded Cheddi Liljestrom from Sweden who is also the reigning Men's Singles 65-69 years Bronze medallist in the 2023 BWF World Senior Championships.
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