BAM boss proud of smashing show by shuttlers

BAM president Datuk Seri Norza Zakaria has praised the national juniors for their fighting spirits at the Badminton Asia Junior Championships which ended in Jakarta yesterday.

Norza said the juniors never gave up despite the disappointment of losing to hosts Indonesia in the semi-finals of the mixed team event earlier.

"I am proud of their achievements, especially after being unlucky in the mixed team event where we settled for bronze," said Norza.

"Finally, our four-year wait has ended with the success of Leong Jun Hao.

"But it is not just Jun Hao, the whole team never gave up. We also had two representatives in the semi-finals of the girls' singles (Eoon Qi Xuan) and boys' doubles (Chia Wei Jie-Ng Tze Yong)”.

Norza added that he expects to see more high-quality players developed through the recently launched National Junior League and the National Badminton Academy, where the juniors will be based from January next year.

Jun Hao clinched the Asian boys' singles title after downing China's Bai Yupeng 21-6, 20-22, 21-17 in the final yesterday. His win also ended Malaysia's four-year wait since Soo Teck Zhi's victory in 2013 in Kota Kinabalu.

Translated from Harian Metro