Alor Setar: The 2012 Asian Junior singles runner-up Soong Joo Ven of Malaysia who was still looking for his first title of the season would have to work harder after his hope of winning the 2015 Malaysia International Challenge Badminton Championships men’s singles title was dashed by Khosit Phetpradab of Thailand on Sunday.
Soong pulled off two major upsets en route to the final by defeating No. 2 seed Derek Wong of Singapore 19-21, 21-17, 21-14 in the third round and teammate No. 3 seed Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin in the semi-final. However, he was unable to re-capture his winning momentum in the men’s singles final when he was beaten by Phetpradab 21-14, 21-10 in 37 minutes.
“Things did not go according to my plan in the final. I tried everything to reverse Phetpradab’s run, but nothing worked. However, I won’t give up and will keep coming back,” said Soong.
Thailand camp also won the mixed doubles title after No. 5 seeds Bodin Issara/Savitree Amitrapai sent No. 4 seeds Hafiz Faisal/Shella Devi Aulia of Indonesia packing in straight sets 21-13, 21-6.
In the women’s competition, fourth-seeded Singaporean shuttler Liang Xiaoyu beat Indonesia’s Dinar Dyah Ayustine 21-11, 21-13 in the women’s singles final to capture her first ever title at the senior level.
Last month, the 19-year-old world No. 64 Liang Xiaoyu posted the biggest win of her young career when she upset 2013 world champion and world No. 8 Ratchanok Intanon at the Thailand Open.
No. 1 seed Lin Chia Yu/Wu Hsiao-Lin came out on top against compatriots Lee Jhe-Huei/Lee Yang in the men’s doubles, seeing off Lee/Lee 17-21, 21-16, 21-18 in 51 minutes to claim the men’s doubles title.
Meanwhile, Indonesians Della Destiara Haris/Rosyita Eka Putri Sari pulled off a big win on Sunday when they sensationally knocked out No. 1 seeds Chaladchalam Chayanit/Phataimas Muenwong of Thailand 21-18, 21-12 to become the women’s doubles champions.
