Justin and Ling Ching the bright sparks in gloomy times for singles

PETALING JAYA: Shuttlers Justin Hoh and Wong Ling Ching (pic) have brought hope back in the singles after a difficult year with their encouraging outings in the SEA Games.

Justin and Ling Ching won bronze in the men’s and women’s singles respectively.

Singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen was reasonably happy with the duo’s showing.

World No. 38 Justin notably upstaged Singapore’s world No. 21 Jason Teh in the first round before going down fighting 10-21, 21-15, 14-21 to Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan (No. 17) in the last four.

World No. 43 Ling Ching stunned Indonesia’s world No. 10 Gregoria Mariska in the women’s team event and gave Thailand’s former world champion Ratchanok Intanon a huge scare before losing 11-21, 21-18, 17-21 in the semi-finals.

Jonassen praised Justin’s response after losing to Moh Zaki Ubaidillah in the men’s team event final where Malaysia went down 0-3 to Indonesia.

“This tournament has been a good showing from Justin. He managed to overcome the defeat in the team event and came out stronger,” said Jonassen.

“He and Alwi really tested each other to the full limit physically, mentally and tactically in the semi-final.

“He didn’t get a good start but came back strong and really challenged Alwi.

“There were a few minor mistakes that made quite a big impact on the game but it was a solid performance

“He can build on what he learned from here. He can use his performance here as a guideline on how to improve.

“Overall, it was good to win two medals in the men’s singles although going into the semi-finals, we had bigger ambitions,” added Jonassen.

The other bronze medal came through Leong Jun Hao, who was initially expected to fight for the gold.

Jonassen also gave the thumbs-up to Ling Ching for her breakthrough outing.

“Overall, it was a great performance from Ling Ching and she can be tremendously proud of herself,” said Jonassen.

“She should use this to build her confidence and push even harder because she is moving in the right direction.

“She chose to be a fighter against Ratchanok. She’s a player that has the ability to understand the tactical elements

“She showcased how much she has grown and she definitely needs to continue to believe that she has the ability to challenge the top players going forward.

“Overall, I’m positive and believe that there are many great things to come from all the players but it takes a lot of effort and maturity to want to do it day by day and then go and do it in tournaments as well,” concluded Jonassen.