On Track

By Cheong Wei Ming in Jakarta
Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images for SSC

Paddlers Feng Tian Wei and Gao Ning may be the more familiar names but they had to play second fiddle today (Nov 14) as they lost to team mates Sun Bei Bei and Yang Zi in the mixed doubles final of the SEA Games competition in Jakarta.

Joyous Moment

It was a joyous moment for the winners (who won 13-11, 11-9, 11-5) as their more illustrious team mates were deemed the favourites. Said Sun, “This is my first time clinching the gold medal and I am very happy to have reached this stage.”

Another Gold?

Sun had more reason to celebrate as she, with Feng, also qualified for the final of the women’s doubles. The Singapore pair beat Vietnam’s Mai Hoang My Trang and Nguyen Thi Viet Linh (11-5, 16-4, 8-11, 11-5) and will now face Thailand in the battle for gold.

All-Singapore Final

Yang Zi too will have another shot at gold. In the semi finals of the men’s doubles, he partnered Gao Ning to beat Philippines’ Richard Gonzales and  Rodel Ireneo Valle (7-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-2). In the final, they will meet another Singapore pair, Ma Liang and Pang Xue Jie, who triumphed over Thailand’s  Chaisit Chaitat and Nikom Wongsiri (11-7, 11-5, 13-11 ).

Confidence Booster

Xue Jie could not contain his joy after the win. “It was a confidence booster for us that the Thais beat the Vietnamese in the quarter finals because we were more confident facing the Thais. We had a bit of luck there,” he said.