Confident Cheras BC romped to their first title of the Junior Champion Challenge title when they beat Petaling Jaya BC 12-7 in the final that was played at the Sports Arena @ Sentosa this afternoon.
After disposing newly-crowned Junior Purple League champions Petaling BC in the semi-finals yesterday, Cheras was full of confident although they had to suffer some anxious moments before they were able to lift the crown.
Once again it was Indonesian import Vega Vio Nirwanda who gave Cheras the winning start when they delivered a 3-1 win over Satheishtharan A/L Ramachandran in the boys singles (8-11, 11-10, 11-3, and 11-6).
However, the positive start for Cheras only pushed Petaling Jaya to put up a stronger challenge in the girls singles with Thamolwan Poopradubsil edging Pearly Tan Koong Le 3-2 (11-9, 11-6, 7-11, 7-11 and 11-8).
With Cheras on a 5-4 overall lead, the mixed doubles would prove pivotal.
But it was Petaling Jaya who provided the spark when Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen-Supanida Katethong beat Cheras’ Indonesian pair of Akbar Gusti Ramadhani-Apriani Rahayu 3-1.
Kantaphon-Supanida won 11-10, 7-11, 11-3 and 11-9 to give Petaling Jaya a 7-6 lead for the first time in the final.
A point behind, Cheras then stepped up a gear in the girls doubles to pick out an outright 3-0 win.
Jauza Fadhila Sugiarto-Ng Wan Win beat Eoon Qi Xuan-Saranya A/P Navaratnarajah 11-4, 11-9 and 11-6.
With the title in sight, Cheras’ Amirsyazwan Al- Razi and Nurizzuddin B. Mohd Rumsani then grabbed another 3-0 win in the boys doubles to beat Kam Sing Siong-Mek Narongrit 11-3, 11-8 and 11-4 for the hard fought victory.
“We are a new team, so to win the title is a very proud moment indeed,” said Cheras coach Rosman Abdul Razak, who has been with the team for the last six months.
“This tournament has shown that players need a platform to showcase their talents. We hope that we can assist the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) in identifying new talents for the country.”
