Two wins out of two has whetted the appetite of Malaysian singles shuttler Soniia Cheah and where she is now in eager anticipation to take on Thailand tomorrow in their next match of Group Y match at the E-Plus Badminton Asia Team Championships.
Despite being ranked fifteen places lower than her opponent – world No. 12 Nitchaon Jindapol – Soniia feels confident of her chances playing at home in front of her own crowd.
“I feel better than I did yesterday and I am eager for this encounter. I have lost to her (Nitchaon) once this year (at the recent Thailand Masters) and I can’t wait to get my revenge,” said the 24-year-old Soniia, who is also a SEA Games silver medallist.
“Our chances may be affected by the injury to Khe Wei but I feel that nothing is impossible.
“We are aiming to beat Thailand to be group champions as we want to avoid meeting tougher opponents in the quarter-final stage.”
Soniia put Malaysia in the right frame with the first point when she breezed past Filipino Sarah Joy Barredo 21-7, 21-6 as the team then went on to whitewashed their hapless opponents 5-0.
Malaysia, who are currently ranked world No.8, will need a top-four finish to qualify for the Uber Cup. – BY ALVIN OH
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RESULTS
MALAYSIA 5-0 PHILIPPINES
(Malaysians first)
Soniia Cheah bt Sarah Joy Barredo  21-7, 21-6
Goh Jin Wei bt Airah Mae Nicole Albo  21-6, 21-7
Lim Yin Fun bt Thea Marie Pomar  21-5,21-8
Vivian Hoo-Tee Jing Yi bt Airah Mae Nicole Albo- Alyssa Yasbel Leonardo  21-12, 21-8
Chow Mei Kuan-Goh Yea Ching bt Sarah Joy Barredo- Thea Marie Pomar 21-13, 21-14
