20 Dec More Misery for Bangsar Hawk BC

Bangsar Hawks Badminton Club (BC) suffered successive defeats in as many days as they lost to Ampang Jaya BC 6-12 during their SS Purple League 2017/18 Phase 1 match earlier today at the Sports Arena Sentosa, Old Klang Road.

Bangsar Hawks BC needed to bounce back from the heavy trashing they received yesterday while Ampang Jaya BC were confident heading into the match after their previous 10-8 win over Cheras BC.

Ampang Jaya BC’s Chan Peng Soon and Lee Shun Mei in mixed doubles action during their SSPL 2017/18 Phase 1 match against Bangsar Hawks BC at the Sports Arena Sentosa, Jalan Klang Lama earlier today.

It was the start Ampang Jaya BC were looking for as they won the first men’s singles match. Despite the squad rotation, national shuttler Tan Jia Wei managed to defeat Bangsar Hawks BC’s Muhd Syafiq A Sanusi 3-1 (7-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-1).

Bangsar Hawks BC’s fortunes looked to be changing for the better as they won the women’s singles and gained the lead. Their women’s singles, Yap Yee won her match in straight sets (11-8, 11-10, 11-9) against Chinese international, Xu Wei of Ampang Jaya BC who struggled to find her footing in her first SSPL 2017/18 appearance.

But it was quickly back to status quo with Ampang Jaya BC winning the third match and held a one-point lead going into the last two matches. Lukhi Nugroho and Muhd Syawal eased their way past Bangsar Hawks BC’s charismatic pair of Dede Ryan Philip and Yap Qar Siong 3-1(11-3, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5) in the men’s doubles category.

Ampang Jaya BC’s lead was extended courtesy of their mixed doubles – Chan Peng Soon and Lee Shun Mei’s 3-1 (11-8, 3-11, 11-6, 11-9) win over Bangsar Hawks BC’s inexperienced pair of Keshya Nurvita and Roobenraj Velayutham. The latter pair struggled throughout the match due to the lack of chemistry.

Bangsar Hawks BC’s misery was compounded in the final match of the tie. Their men’s singles, Zulhelmi Zulkiffli held his own before finally succumbing to Ampang Jaya BC’s Vietnamese import, Nguyen Tien Minh in straight sets (11-8, 11-9, 11-6).

“I am happy with this pair of wins and so early in the league as well. Today’s win (over Bangsar Hawks BC) is even sweeter as we lost to them last year. After a year of preparation, I can also see that our younger players are improving steadily. This will surely help our team as we won’t need to rely heavily on star names, instead our fringe players can also make a positive impact when called upon,” said Ampang Jaya BC’s team manager, Ho Khek Mong.

Despite the comfortable win today, the real test for Ampang Jaya BC will be in their next match when they face last year’s champion, Petaling Jaya BC on Friday.

SSPL 2017/18 Phase 1 Results
(4pm) Ampang Jaya BC bt Bangsar Hawks BC 12-6
MS2: Tan Jia Wei bt Muhd Syafiq A Sanusi 3-1 (7-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-1)
WS: Xu Wei lost to Yap Yee 0-3 (8-11, 10-11, 9-11)
MD: Lukhi Apri Nugroho-Muhd Syawal Mohd Ismail bt Dede Ryan Philip-Yap Qar Siong 3-1 (11-3, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5)
XD: Chan Peng Soon-Lee Shun Mei bt Keshya Nurvita Hanadia-Roobenraj Velayutham 3-1 (11-8, 3-11, 11-6, 11-9)
MS1: Nguyen Tien Minh bt Zulhelmi Zulkiffli 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-6)