Wednesday June 27, 2012

Joo Ven out to prove a point in Asian Junior meet

By KNG ZHENG GUAN

SUBANG JAYA: Top national junior shuttler Soong Joo Ven is ready to put the controversies involving BJSS behind and focus on proving himself in the Asian Junior Championship in Gimcheon from June 30–July 7.

Joo Ven and Darren Issac Devadass were chosen by Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) for the Asean Schools competition and did not want to release them for the Asian junior meet.

The duo decided to quit BJSS months before their Sijil Pelajaran Menengah (SPM) to play in the Asian Juniors instead.

The soft-spoken Joo Ven is now all fired up to prove he had made the right decision by emulating Zulfadli Zulkifli’s feat at the Asian Juniors last year.

“Right now I’m just focused on training and the Asian Juniors and my dad will sort out the study arrangements for me once this tournament and the Sukma (Malaysia Games) is over,” said Joo Ven.

“It was a bit of a tough decision but it has fired me up to prove a point. But it won’t be easy.

“But having won the Smiling Fish Thailand Satelite tournament and the National Junior Circuit GP Finals, I now know what it feels like to win and I want to do it again.

“Besides, I’ve had an eye-opening experience competing in last year’s tournament and I believe it will prove useful in my bid for the title this time,” said Joo Ven.

The Selangor lad should be good enough for at least the semi-finals but his task will not be made easy by the likes of Indonesians Shesar Hiren Rhustavito and Arief Gifar Ramadhan, India’s Sameer Verma and Japan’s Kento Momota.

China will also generally provide a strong cast although all their players are virtually unheard of.

The other singles shuttlers in the squad are first-timers Tan Kian Meng, Chong Yee Han and 15-year-old Cheam June Wei.

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