Petaling BC lead four teams through to Genting from Stage 2

CYBERJAYA (13 JANUARY 2019): Dark horses, Petaling Badminton Club (Petaling BC) led four teams  from Stage 2 into the final rounds of the SS Purple League 2018/19 after a 13-7 win over Serdang Badminton Club (Serdang BC) in the final day of action in Group A at Gem In Mall, Cyberjaya today.

Besides Petaling BC, Kepong Badminton Club (Kepong BC), Tebrau City Badminton Club (TCBC) and Serdang BC have also booked their tickets from Stage 2 which ended yesterday.

Previously, Ampang Jaya Badminton Club (AJBC) who finished top of Stage 1 and defending champions, Puchong United Badminton Club (PUBC) who finished below them, secured direct qualification to the final rounds to be held on the 24th to 27th January at Arena of Stars, Resorts World Genting.

Opening men’s singles, Chong Yee Han put them on the road to qualifying after edging out Muhd Shaqeem Eiman Shahyar in a tight contest, 3-2 (11-4, 3-11, 11-9, 7-11, 8-6) on the buzzer.

Petaling BC’s women’s singles shuttler, Lim Yin Fun and Lyanny Alessandra Mainaky then played to a draw 2-2 (11-5, 8-11, 8-11, 5-4) which kept the tie firmly poised at 5-4.

Men’s doubles pair, Man Wei Chong-Shia Chun Kang put Petaling BC in the ascendancy, 8-4 when they won 3-0 (11-5, 11-8, 11-7) against Lwi Sheng Hao-Ong Wei Khoon.

Serdang BC’s Malaysian-Chinese mixed doubles pair, Lin Liu-Yap Qar Siong then was brought to the edge before emerging victorious over Malaysian-Australian pairing, Cheam June Wei-Gronya Somerville, 3-2 (11-5, 10-11, 11-5, 10-11, 11-7) to close the gap, 7-10 in favour of Petaling BC.

Needing only one set point, Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin provided more than that,with a 3-0 (11-4, 11-8, 11-9) win over Ng Tze Yong, exacting revenge in last week’s loss to the same player which led to a 10-12 loss in Stage 1.

Petaling BC’s head coach, Ismail Saman, pulled off a masterstroke, pairing singles player, June Wei, who just returned after a quarter finals exit to Lin Dan at the Thailand Masters with Gronya, salvaging two precious points for this valuable win.

“In my opinion, a singles player should be able to control the whole court, if he is not able to do that in the doubles, there is something wrong with him,” said the former national singles shuttler.

“Looking ahead, we are planning to improve on our team for the final rounds when the transfer window is open. We will be looking at which players to bring in or replace to strengthen our team,” he added.

In an earlier match, Kepong BC confirmed their place in fourth after beating newcomers, Bukit Mertajam All Stars Badminton Club (BMASBC), 9-8 also at Gem In Mall, Cyberjaya.

Kepong BC who were runners up to PUBC in last season’s final, got their winning points through two time national men’s singles champion, Lim Chi Wing, Qin Jing Jing (women’s singles)and Muhd Nuraidil Adha Azman-Tee Kai Wun (men’s doubles).