Shuttlers win mixed team gold for the first time

Discussion in 'Commonwealth Games 2006 Badminton' started by ants, Mar 20, 2006.

  1. ants

    ants Regular Member

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    WOMEN’s singles shuttler Wong Mew Choo delivered the crucial point even though she was carrying a back injury. And men’s doubles shuttler Chan Chong Ming redeemed himself as Malaysia emerged as the mixed team champions for the first time in Commonwealth Games badminton.

    Top seeded Malaysia dethroned England as the champions, winning the final tie 3-1 at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre yesterday.

    England got off to a flying start as expected with 2004 Athens Olympic Games mixed doubles silver medallists Nathan Robertson-Gail Emms beating Wong Choong Hann-Ooi Sock Ai 21-15, 21-12.

    As expected, world No 2 Lee Chong Wei squared the tie with a convincing 21-8, 21-8 win over Aamir Ghaffar.

    It was then up to Mew Choo to turn the tide to Malaysia’s favour in her match against England’s Tracey Hallam.

    The match went down the wire. Mew Choo fought like a “tiger” for every point and sealed a gruelling match at 27-25, 20-22, 21-18.

    Malaysia now held England by the throat and in the men’s doubles. And Chong Ming did not disappoint this time as he did in the previous Games in Manchester.

    Partnering Koo Kien Keat this time, they clinched the winning point with a 21-14, 21-14 win over Anthony Clark-Robert Blair to bring tremendous joy to the team and also the hundreds of “Malaysian Tigers” supporters in the stands.

    The 21-year-old Mew Choo, especially, felt on top of the world.

    “Tracey has better skills and is a very experienced player. It was a very tense match and winning the first game was crucial for me. Both of us were making mistakes but I just hung on,” she said.

    “I suffered a slight back injury two days ago and it affected my game since the tie against New Zealand (on Sunday).

    “I kept on fighting against Tracey despite the pain. These Games come once every four years and I did not want this (the back pain) to spoil it for me. This is just great. I finally won a gold medal after a four-year wait.”

    The gold also meant a lot to Chong Ming. In the 2002 Manchester Games, Mew Choo had won her match against Julia Mann of England but Chong Ming-Choong Tan Fook failed to deliver a point and Malaysia failed to reach the semi-finals.

    “The failure in Manchester hung heavily on my shoulders and I had to make amends for it. I feel so relieved now,” said Chong Ming.

    National chief coach Yap Kim Hock said: “This is our biggest achievement in a mixed team event. Mew Choo did well to help the team win the gold medal. This is certainly the boost for us as we turn our attention to winning medals in the individual events.”

    Except for the mixed doubles, Malaysia are in with a chance to win gold medal in both the men’s and women’s singles and doubles events.
     

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