PETALING JAYA: Shuttler Oo Shan Zi faces an uphill battle in the girls’ singles in the World Junior Championships but has vowed to go all out in the absence of her teammate Siti Zulaikha Azmi.
The 17-year-old Shan Zi is making her debut in the tournament and is one of Malaysia’s best hope in the girls’ singles along with Ong Xin Yee after Asian Junior bronze medallist Zulaikha was ruled out due to a heel injury.
Shan Zi is unseeded and knows she faces a tough task but is feeling more confident after pulling off a stunning win over the Badminton Association of Malaysia’s (BAM) No. 1 K. Letshanaa en route to winning silver for Penang in the Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Kuching in August.
“Winning the silver in the Sukma has given me more confidence and I want to fight hard in the world juniors,” said Shan Zi.
“I also want to do my best for my teammate Siti, who can’t play in this tournament.
“At the same time, I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself. I just want to enjoy my game.”
Shan Zi got off to a good start after beating Canada’s Simone Huang 21-14, 21-8 in the first round in Nanchang, China yesterday.
The youngster will face India’s 11th seeded Navya Kanderi in the second round today.
Xin Yee also safely made it into the next round after brushing past Sri Lanka’s Sithuli Ranasinghe 21-16, 21-6 and will play the latter’s teammate Rashmi Mudalige next.
Another Malaysian, Lim Zhi Shin easily defeated Norway’s Mina Korssund 21-8, 21-9 and will face United Arab Emirates’ Mysha Omer Khan in the second round.
Eng Ler Qi though suffered an early exit after she went down 16-21, 10-21 to Hong Kong’s Wong Yi.
FIRST ROUND RESULTS
Malaysians only
Singles
Boys: Sng Wei Ming bt Jamal Rahmat (Phi) 21-17, 21-14; Kong Zhou Swin bt Jason Ou (Eng) 21-12, 21-19; Simone Piccinin (Ita) bt Ayu Fu Sheng 14-21, 21-19, 24-22.
Girls: Oo Shan Zi bt Simone Huang (Can) 21-14, 21-8 Ong Xin Yee bt Sithuli Ranasinghe (Srl) 21-16, 21-6; Lim Zhi Shin bt Mina Korssund (Nor) 21-8, 21-9; Wong Yi (Hkg) bt Eng Ler Qi 21-16, 21-10.
Mixed doubles: Loh Ziheng-Clarissa San bt Jaden Mingoa-Josephine Zhao (Aus) 21-11, 21-10; Wee Yee Tern-Nicole Tan bt Edward Patai-Nicholas Herman (Aus) 21-7, 21-2; Datu Anif Isacc-Dania Sofea Zaidi bt Robert Nebel-Jasmine Willis (Den) 19- 21, 21-12, 21-9; Tan Zhi Yang-Nuraqilah Maisarah Ramdan bt Casper Spaans-Inger Pothuizen (Ned) 21-12, 21-6.
