Gallant run by scratch pair Pei Jing-Chiew Sien ends in final
Lai Pei Jing-Lim Chiew Sien took the first game 21-12 before losing the second and rubber games by 21-7 and 21-13.
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s independent women’s doubles scratch pair of Lai Pei Jing-Lim Chiew Sien saw their gallant run in the women’s doubles at the Australian Open badminton championship come to an end in the final.
After a promising start in the first game, the unranked and unseeded Malaysians, who earlier said they were entering to play in the women’s doubles for “fun”, lost 21-12, 7-21, 13-21 to world No 18 Febriana Dwipuji-Amalia Chaya from Indonesia in 73 minutes.
The Malaysians took home US$15,960 (RM75,354) while the winners pocketed US$33,180 (RM156,657).
Despite the loss, making it to the final would have been a consolation for Pei Jing, who had said she wanted to bounce back from the heartbreak of being the victim of an investment scam.
Pei Jing had revealed recently that she had been scammed of nearly all her savings.
Pei Jing partnered Tan Kian Meng in the mixed doubles and managed to reach the semi-finals where they lost. Chiew Sien also played in the mixed doubles with Wong Tien Ci but lost in the last 16.
Pei Jing-Chiew Sien took a 9-3 lead in eight minutes in the first game in Sydney today and led 11-5 before the breather.
After some long exchanges, they went on to take the first game 21-12 in 24 minutes, helped by many unforced errors from the Indonesians.
The start of the second game saw an exchange of 104 shots before Febriana Dwipuji-Amalia Chaya took the first point. They extended the lead to 8-0 quickly. Play had to be stopped for a while at 13-3 after Chiew Sien suffered an injury in her right palm and had to receive medical attention.
The Indonesians took the second game easily at 21-7 in 25 minutes to force a rubber, which they also led all the way to win 21-13.
However, the Malaysians can take heart from their Australian outing, with fans praising them for entering the Super 500 series despite being a scratch pair.