Lydia Li Ya Cheah beats Sonia Cheah to clinch Women’s Singles title at the Kedah Open 2011
Malaysia’s Lydia Li Ya Cheah put up a wonderful display of quality badminton against her sister, Sonia Cheah and clinched the Women’s Singles title after winning the final of the Kedah Open 2011, at Alor Setar, Malaysia, on Saturday, July 16.
World Number 141, Lydia Cheah, played high-class badminton against her younger sister, who earlier qualified for the quarter-finals of the Asian Junior Badminton Championships, held in India in the opening week of July.
Sonia was looking quite tired in the court as her movement was quite slow, which helped Lydia to play without facing any resistance from her opponent. The elder sister finished-off the title match in straight games to win the crown in Alor Setar.
Lydia also grabbed the Women’s Singles crown at the Kuala Lumpur Open 2011, in March, which was the first leg of National Circuit events. The current win is her second in international tournaments, proving that she is one of the best shuttlers in Malaysia.
After winning the final of the event, Lydia said, “It is a good win but it’s only just a local title. Hopefully it will give me the confidence I need to kickstart my career in the international arena.”
While talking about her current year’s plans, Lydia added, “I still need to work harder and improve a lot more on my current ranking. My target is to reach the 60-80 ranking by the end of the year.”
In the opening set of the final match, Lydia was in superb control of the rallies as she was playing with confidence. Sonia failed to match the speed and tactics of her rival as she was not playing to her full potential because of physical exertion. Lydian
clinched the first set easily, with a margin of 21-15.
In the second game, Sonia tried to accelerate her speed, but she could not maintain her pace as she was too tired. Lydia played with precision and won the second set with a 21-16 difference. The overall score of this final battle was 21-15 and 21-16.
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