Asian Junior Championships: Late assault by Calvin Jia, Wee Gieen fetch semi-final spot for Malaysia
Men’s Doubles team Calvin Jia Hong Ong-Wee Gieen Tan of Malaysia played their role to perfection and ensured their country’s presence in semi-finals of Badminton Asia Youth Under-19 Mixed Team Championships on July 1, 2012.
Malaysia was up against Thailand in the quarter-finals as the match was on knife’s edge with 2-1 score position when Calvin Jia and Wee Gieen played their heart out and fetched the final match point.
They outshined Natpapon Kitphaibool-Puthaporn Bvornwatanuwong in a hard fought game which prolonged to 40 minutes.
They managed to enter decisive figure of 20-22, 21-17 and 21-13 after three gruelling sets.
The Malaysian campaigners took some time to understand their rivals’ strategy and lost the very first game but they introduced an effective counter-attack strategy which yielded good results.
In first set, the Thai shuttlers were bit confused in the start but then a couple of fruitful rallies restored their confidence and they started moving forward at a steady pace.
Natpapon and Puthaporn trailed behind until 4-7 but they narrowed the gap with three points in a row. They stood on higher end with 11-10 margin before the interval.
Later part of the game proved a competitive contest as at first Calvin Jia and Wee Gieen reinstated their dominance by registering 16-13 total but then the Thai couple counter-balanced the situation 17-17.
Both contenders chased each other until game point situation and this race ended when Natpapon and Puthaporn grabbed ending points in decisive figure of 22-20.
However, their supremacy was short lived as the Malaysian duo stormed back and blew their challengers away in the second set.
This time they did not commit previous mistakes and gained an immediate advantage with 7-3 total. They carried this rhythm throughout the first half and placed a respectable figure of 11-8 before one-minute break.
After the interval, they lost focus in third quarter which resulted in 15-14 margin but they struck hard in final moments and bagged crucial set with 21-17 score on the board.
Conversely, third set turned bit flat as Calvin Jia and Wee Gieen did not throw any chance to their competitors and paved path to victory for their country with final result of 21-13.
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