Ex-national shuttlers to play for academy

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DEFENDING champions Michael’s Badminton Academy (MBA) have included two new faces in their bid to retain the Open A-Grade women’s team event at the Yonex Cup International Friendship badminton championships in Osaka, Japan from Oct 27-29.

The duo are former national women’s shuttler Ooi Yu Hang and former Sarawak representative Deane Lim.

Pek Siah: ‘As the former winners, we feel obliged to join again.’

Following a victorious debut last season, former Commonwealth Games women’s doubles gold medallist Lim Pek Siah will be spearheading the sole Malaysian entry in the top flight contest at the three-day meet.

Among the regular faces in the MBA line-up are three former national team trainees — Lee Winnie, Ooi Swee Wenn and Mooi Hing Yau — along with former Kedah state representative Ong Sher Foong.

Two other players — Haw Chiou Hwee and Norhashikin Md Amin —from the previous winning team will not be part of the upcoming campaign.

The 32-year-old Pek Siah admitted the combination of lucky of the draw in the knockout stages and an intelligent gamble in selecting the right combinations for the championship encounter were important elements in lifting the trophy last year.

In last season’s final, they overcame Taiwan A with a hard-earned 2-1 win with the pairing of Chiou Hwee-Winnie delivering the winning point in the tie decided over three doubles.

Although Pek Siah is excited about defending the championship at the tournament with her shuttling buddies, she realised that it is going to be an uphill task to repeat their feat.

Reaching out: The combination of Winnie (front) and Hing Yau in action during a friendly match.

“Initially, we did not plan to return for our second appearance at the tournament. We only assembled our players at the end of last month (Sept). Most of us are still active in the game but it is a different ball game to be in competitive condition and perform at a very high level. As the former winners, we felt obliged to join the occasion. We want to show up and support the event especially attending the symbolic gesture of handing over the trophy to mark the start of the new edition of the tournament during the opening ceremony,” said Pek Siah, who is a full-time coach.

For the tournament, Pek Siah will form the MBA’s top ranked pair with Hing Yau.

Having featured in the Japanese Division One women’s league for the Osaka-based Tricky Panda for three months at the end of 2009, Pek Siah said they were wary of the threats coming from the formidable Japanese teams joining the fray.

“Besides the challengers from Japan especially the superior clubs, teams from South Korea and Taiwan are also serious contenders. We do not know exactly the strength of the field until we see them in action. Our opponents will be more prepared to take us on. This time, they will be ready for us. They have the advantage of anticipating the strength of our team after seeing us in action last year. We need to change our line-up regularly to create the element of surprise. We will re-evaluate our options as we progress in the tournament,” said Pek Siah.

The Malaysian shuttlers will be leaving for Japan on Oct 25.