13 hours ago
Elsa powers Malaysia to BJKC win despite illness
KUALA LUMPUR: Not everything went to plan but the national women's tennis team still got away with a 2-1 win over Kyrgyzstan in their opening Billie Jean King Cup (BJKC) Asia-Oceania Group II competition tie today (June 16).
Key player Elsa Wan Abdul Rahman was ill and vomited a number of times throughout the day at the National Tennis Centre but still took to court.
She battled through the pain to put Malaysia 1-0 up after beating Safina Khabibrakhmanova 6-3, 6-2 in the opening singles.
Joleen Saw then faced Kyrgyzstan's playing captain Vladislava Andreevskaya but struggled to find her range and went down 6-2, 6-4.
With the score level at 1-1, it went down to the doubles and Elsa again took to court, this time with Lim Zan Ning against Vladislava-Safina.
Elsa appeared exhausted throughout the match but she and Zan Ning held their nerve well on the big points.
Both pairs exchanged breaks late in the second set before Elsa-Zan Ning claimed the decisive break in the ninth game to secure the match and the tie.
Malaysia captain Koay Hao Sheng was relieved to see his side take the win after what was a challenging day.
"I don't think it was our best performance so I am pleased that we were able to come away with the win," said Hao Sheng.
"I think our players were a bit nervous with it being our opening match here. It is great to have support from your home crowd but there are also expectations.
"Elsa was also ill from the opening ceremony in the morning and vomited during and after her matches.
"We will be taking her to the doctor now for treatment and evaluation. The doctor will decide if she can play tomorrow (June 17).
"If she can't play, we might field Zan Ning or Iman Syuhada Abdullah in the singles."
Hao Sheng disclosed that Hannah Yip is also battling a hip injury though could feature in doubles matches later in the tournament. Malaysia is seeded fourth.
Luck was, however, on their side as Malaysia has been given a rest day and will not see action tomorrow.
The other group A tie between top seeds Mongolia and Northern Mariana Islands today saw the former churning out a straightforward 3-0 win.
In Group B, Pacific Oceania downed Iran 2-1 while second seeds Indonesia downed the Philippines 3-0.
