THE Samin siblings and future stars Demond Anthony and Arena Satu brought cheers to the Sabah camp as they overcame their rivals to check into the semifinals of the 100PLUS National Junior Grand Prix Finals in Seremban near here.
In the men’s Under-16 quarterfinal tie, Demond Anthony, the first leg (Zone A) champion had no trouble brushing aside Teh Jin Hong of Penang 21-16, 21-13 to confirmed his ticket in the last four.
Arena Satu, meanwhile, face some resistance before getting the better of BAM shuttler Vanessa Ng Po Lyn 21-15, 21-13 to make it a double celebration for Sabah.
Arena Satu now meets Go Pei Kee of BAM in the semifinal action which takes place later in the day.
“I’m improving but Vanessa is a certainly tough nut to crack…she’s got great skills and endurance. However, I managed to push her to the limit by continuously attacking her with long rallies,” said Arena.
“I’m thrilled to be in the semifinals but right now, I don’t want to get carried away. My spirits are high as my brother Demond is also in the last four,” said Arena.
In the other quarterfinals, Goh Pei Kee booked her berth in the last four after winning over Loh Zhi Wei of Selangor in just 27 minutes.
BAM’s Hoe Shi Yun squares off against Isabel Liau Bei Yi, also of BAM in the other semifinal match tie after defeating Penang’s Khor Jing Wen 21-23, 21-17, 21-9 and Selangor’s Lim Qi Ling 21-8, 21-14 respectively in the quarterfinals.
In the other men’s Under 16 ties, BAM’s Ong Zhen Yi cruised into the semifinals following his 21-14, 21-17 over S Muniandy of Johor in match which lasted 41 minutes.
The other quarterfinal match which pit BAM’s Ng Yaw Pin and Anson Cheong Yan Feng ended with the former winning the tie in a rubber game of 14-21, 21-15, 21-15.
Ong Ken Yong of Melaka grabbed the last spot in the semifinals, coming back from a set down to defeat Penang’s Samuel Lee 16-21, 21-13, 21-17.
The semifinals matches takes place later in the afternoon while the final matches for both the men’s and women’s Under 16 competition are slated for tomorrow (Sunday).
