Jin Wei claims another scalp
Published on: Saturday, January 19, 2019
KUALA LUMPUR: National women’s singles shuttler Goh Jin Wei is a wily 18-year-old, indeed. The unseeded teenager switched her style of play to claim her second seeded scalp and advance to the semi-finals of the Malaysia Masters 2019 badminton championships at the Axiata Arena, KL Sports City, here, Friday.
Having disposed of world No. 5 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the first round, Jin Wei opted to play long rallies en route to beating China’s world No. 7 He Bingjiao 21-15, 21-16 in today’s quarter-finals.
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“I feel luck is on my side. In today’s match, I opted for longer rallies rather than a fast game because that’s how she (Bingjiao) likes to play. Anyway, my coach also reminded me to be calm and focused on the court,” said Jin Wei.
Despite having beaten two seeded players, Jin Wei is still keeping her feet on the ground, saying she still has a lot to learn to be on par with the world’s best, especially in terms of her physical durability and consistency.
“My target is to go as far as I can in the Malaysia Masters and every other tournament after this. In this tournament, I can judge my level of performance as many of the world’s best are here,” said Jin Wei, who will meet sixth seed Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand.
The Thai defeated world No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan 21-13, 21-14 in the last eight.
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Meanwhile, professionals Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying survived a “dramatic and emotionally-draining” clash against compatriots Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai to check into the mixed doubles semi-finals, Friday.
Peng Soon-Liu Ying had to rely on every ounce of their experience to prevail 22-20, 22-20 over their former teammates.
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Liu Ying described the clash as emotional as it was the first time the two pairs were meeting on court since she and Peng Soon left the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) setup last month to turn professionals.
“Yes, it was kind of an emotional match. It was a really tough match and mentally challenging too...we used to train together so we know each other’s game well,” she said. Peng Soon, though, expects another tough time, mentally and physically, when they come up against top seeds Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino of Japan in the last four on Saturday.
The Japanese pair downed world No. 3 Seo Seung Jae-Chae Yujung ouf South Korea 21-7, 21-13, in the last eight Fridayday.
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