Bangkok: 15 year-old Goh Jin Wei’s quest for becoming the first Malaysian girls’ singles finalist at the Asian Juniors ended in disappointment, when she lost a hard fought three-set battle against the 2015 China Masters champion, and the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games girls’ singles gold medalist He Bingjiao of China.
Goh Jin Wei started with supreme confidence, playing with aggressively high-tempo game routine, she took the first set 21-17 against the 18-year-old He Bing Jiao.
He Bingjiao was certainly in no mood to give up the semi-final match, as she fought back in the second set with 21-17 and forced a decider.
Goh Jin Wei and He Bing Jiao have been neck-and-neck on every surface during the first half of the third set. But Goh started to lose steam after the interval in the third set, as He Bingjiao stamped her authority and completely went on a roll to advance to the Asia Junior Championship girls’ singles final with a 21-14 victory. He Bingjiao will face No. 8 Chochuwong Pornpawee of Thailand in the final.
“This is a good experience for Jin Wei, and is definitely very helpful in getting her ready for the World Junior Championships that will be held in Lima, Peru, from Nov 4-15,” said Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) project manager Kwan Yoke Meng.
The 2014 BWF World Junior Champion Lin Gui Pu of China defeated Japan’s Yuta Watanabe 21-10, 21-12 in the boys’ singles semi-finals. Lin will take on Seo Seung Jae of Korea for the boys’ title on Sunday.
Top seeds Zheng Si Wei/Chen Qingchen of China will meet Choi Jong Woo /Kim Hye Jeong of Korea in the mixed doubles final.
China continued to show its badminton dominance even at junior level, when Chen Qingchen/Jia Yi Fan and Du Yue/Li Yin Hui set up the all-Chinese final in girls doubles, while Chinese pair Han Chengkai/Zhou Haodong will fight with compatriots He Jiting/Zheng Si Wei for the boys’ doubles title on Sunday.
