PROTON MALAYSIA INT’L SF – Woon Vies for Two
Posted by valsus on November 23, 2009
Source : http://www.badzine.info
Malaysia’s Woon Khe Wei (pictured) earned her spots in two finals at the 2009 Proton Malaysia International Challenge. Woon and Tan Wee Kiong go into the all-Malaysian mixed final looking for their first ever senior title and Woon and Chong Sook Chin will attempt to add the women’s doubles to the two titles the home nation has already secured. Thailand, meanwhile, sent its reigning World Junior Champions back down south and two of these are gunning for more titles.
Two years ago, Tan Wee Kiong and Woon Khe Wei were among Malaysia’s biggest hopes in mixed doubles. They were their nation’s only mixed pair at the 2007 Sudirman Cup, even before they won the Asian Junior Championship. In November of that year, they reached the final of the Malaysia International Challenge and lost to newly-crowned World Junior Champions Lim Khim Wah / Ng Hui Lin. But while Lim/Ng have since collected a handful of titles between them, neither Tan nor Woon has reached another final…until today.
Tan and Woon are back as a pair after just shy of a year apart and the two twenty-year-olds find themselves in a final at home once more. Not coincidentally, their opponent will include Ng Hui Lin, this time playing with yet another World Junior Champion, 2008 boys’ doubles winner Mak Hee Chun. Neither pair was seeded at this tournament and while Mak/Ng struggled through three games with top seeds Chan/Goh, Tan/Woon won the other all-Malaysian semi-final easily.
That doesn’t mean that Woon will be rested for the final, however. She and Chong Sook Chin scraped through the longest semi-final match of the day to beat Chinese Taipei’s Chiang/Hsieh 22-24, 21-17, 21-18 in 70 minutes. Third-seeded Marylen Ng Poau Leng / Lim Yin Loo failed to reserve the women’s doubles title for Malaysia, however, losing in two to Japan’s Eto/Wakita.
Both Mak and Tan had a chance to enter two finals and also to secure the men’s doubles title for Malaysia but, as a pair, they fell in 3 games to Thailand’s new World Junior Mixed Champion Maneepong Jongjit, playing with Bodin Isara. The Thais will take on Malaysia’s Lim Khim Wah / Chan Peng Soon.
Thailand already has the women’s singles title in the bag. Sapsiree Taerattanachai (pictured) ended the Hong Kong challenge by beating Chan Tsz Ka, another doubles specialist as a junior. She will face 14-year-old compatriot and World Junior Champion Ratchanok Intanon, who needed three games to defeat yet another Thai youngster, Nitchaon Jindapol.
Malaysia also has a singles title wrapped up. This time it was a Thai threat that was last to be eliminated as last year’s runner-up, Chong Wei Feng beat his northern neighbour Suppanyu Avihingsanon in two quick games to reach the final again. Chong Wei Feng is not the only finalist who shares part of his name with a successful compatriot. While last year’s final went to Kuan Beng Hong, Chan Kwong Beng will be the one to challenge Chong for the 2009 title.
