A Slice of History
Shuttler Fu Mingtian Enters Final Of Women’s Singles Event
By Cheong Wei Ming in Jakarta
Shuttler Fu Mingtian created a slice history all her own today (Nov 18) when she beat Thailand’s Intanon Ratchanok to become the first Singaporean woman to reach a SEA Games singles final.
Beating Second Seed
Playing at the Istora Senayan Stadium in Jakarta, she beat the tournament’s second seed 21-17, 19-21, 22-20 and will next play for gold against home crowd favourite Firdasari Adryanti.
Settling For Bronzes
Her team mates, Derek Wong in the men’s singles, as well as the women's doubles pair of Yao Lei and Shinta Mulia Sari had to settle for bronzes after losing in the semi-finals. Derek fell 17-21, 12-21 to Indonesian top seed Simon Santoso while Yao Lei and Shinta went down 18-21, 17-21 against Indonesia’s Melati Nadya and Marissa Vita.
Feels Like A Dream
Asked about what she had achieved, Mingtian said, “It is my first time entering the finals for women’s singles. It is very good motivation for me because I met many very strong opponents along the way.” She added, "I am very excited. It still feels like a dream. I never thought about what would happen after the end result. I only concentrated on the match when I was playing."