Joo Ven and Yin Fun are tops

SELANGOR'S Soong Joo Ven and Lim Yin Fun of Kuala Lumpur justified their seeding and secured the boys' and girls' Under-18 titles respectively in the 100PLUS National Junior Badminton Grand Finals at Juara Stadium yesterday.

Joo Ven (left) & Teck Zhi. Photo : Alex van Zaanen

Joo Ven, who beat Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) rival Soo Teck Zhi 27-25, 15-21, 21-13, will also be vying for honours in the Asian Junior Championships in Gimcheon, South Korea (June 30-July 7) and the Malaysia Games (July 7-16) in Kuantan.

"I now have one title in the bag and I hope to win two more by the middle of July," said a delighted Joo Ven.

Joo Ven is also eligible to play in the Asian Juniors next year but the bigger goal would be to go for the World Junior title in the next two years before he breaks into the senior scene.



Meanwhile, Yin Fun was also tested by her national junior teammate Lim Chiew Sien of Johor before securing a 17-21, 21-19, 21-14 win.

"We know each other's game as we train under (Wong) Mew Choo almost every day. We are quite close and that makes it harder," said Yin Fun, who is likely to meet Chiew Sien in the Malaysia Games final.

BJSS girls' singles coach Mew Choo had more success as two more of her charges Ho Yen Mei of KL and Johor's Yap Rui Chen played the Under-16 final with Yen Mei prevailing for a 18-21, 30-29, 21-15 win.

"It feels good to see four of my players in the finals. However, there are still some shortcomings in their performance and we need to rectify their weaknesses before the Asian Junior Championships," said Mew Choo.

The boys' Under-16 singles title went to top seed Cheam June Wei of Penang who defeated Pahang's Tan Teck Han 21-15, 21-6.

Courtesy of New Straits Times