CHENGDU: The Uber Cup Finals has been an eye-opener for women’s singles shuttler Wong Ling Ching.
The 20-year-old debutant played in all three group matches but did not deliver any point in Malaysia’s 1-4 and 0-5 loss to Thailand and Taiwan respectively but contributed one in their 4-1 victory against Australia.
Malaysia failed to progress to the quarter-finals after finishing third in the group but Ling Ching believed that she and her teammates have gained valuable experience in the team meet.
“Our team mostly consist of youngsters and the coaches wanted us to use this tournament to gain experience,” said Ling Ching, who is currently ranked No. 81 in the world.
“We have given our best but we need to improve to be able to match the top teams.
“For me, I rarely get to play against players in the world’s top 20, so this was a good opportunity for me to see where I stand.
“I learned a lot and will keep working hard to close the gap with the top players,” added Ling Ching.
Ling Ching beat Australia’s Sydney Tjonadi 21-16, 21-3 in the second singles after Goh Jin Wei had given the team the lead with a 21-6, 21-12 victory over Tiffany Ho in Chengdu, China yesterday.
Fellow debutant Siti Zulaikha Azmi then brushed past Isabella Yan 21-10, 21-10 in the third singles.
There were mixed fortunes in the doubles though when Tan Zhing Yi-Ho Lo Ee fought hard to come away with a 21-12, 13-21, 21-10 victory over Kaitlyn Ea-Gronya Somerville but Teoh Mei Xing-Go Pei Kee went down 15-21, 17-21 to world No. 32 Setyana Mapasa-Angela Yu.
