19 Oct PLJ2018: Ee Wei ready to push herself to the limit at the world juniors

Set to make her farewell bow at the World Junior Championships, Toh Ee Wei is aiming to go out with a bang by securing a podium finish at her swansong edition in Markham, Canada, early Novemmber.

Toh Ee Wei along with her teammates managed to help Bukit Cheras BC to lead the Purple League Junior Division 1 standings.

Doing double duty for the country for the last two editions, Ee Wei, 18 is again ready to go the extra mile for Malaysia in both the girls and mixed doubles events.

Partnering Chen Tang Jie in the mixed doubles, the shuttler secured a bronze in her debut in 2016. She however could not follow it up the following year, her journey ending in the quarter finals in Jakarta with Eng Cheong Ng last year.

This time around her partnership with Pearly Tan Kong Le looks strong in the girl’s doubles, having won the Malaysia International Youth Championships in Kangar, Perlis in August, defeating Indonesian pairing, Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma-Ribka Sugiarto in the final.

Their win was especially sweet, given the same pair denied them the gold medal a month before at the Asian Junior Championships in Jakarta.

But don’t discount her in the mixed event where coach Kwan Yoke Meng has an ace up his sleeve, ready to call up Ee Wei if the need arises.

“This year I am focusing more on my partnership with Pearly but I’m not sure if coach wants to put me in again in the mixed (doubles). My target is to win a medal in my final appearance.

“I have achieved many breakthrough achievements this year in the girl’s singles and I want to continue my partnership with Pearly for years to come,” added Ee Wei who helped her Melaka win two golds, in the girls and mixed event at the recent Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Perak.

But before turning her sights to Canada next month, Ee Wei has some unfinished business to attend to last weekend in the Purple League Junior (PLJ) 2018 with Division Two champions, Bukit Cheras Badminton Club.

It was a mixed week for Ee Wei with her partnership with Joanne Ng May Yin yielding three points in the tie against Bandar Maharani Badminton Club after 3-2 (11-5, 11-6, 9-11, 7-11, 11-10) win over Thai pair, Ajjima Tongchai-Yamolphat Thanesanukul in the girl’s doubles.

It wasn’t enough however to deny Bandar Maharani Badminton Club a 10-9 win. Newly promoted, Bukit Cheras BC then bounced back with a win 13-3 against Petaling Badminton Club but the doubles specialist could only contribute one point through a 1-3 (9-11, 4-11, 11-7, 6-11) loss over Thai-Malaysian pair, Chasinee Korepap-Choong Hon Jian.

Ee Wei admitted that her performance was not up to par last weekend, with her thoughts wandering too far, ahead of the world juniors.

Nevertheless, Ee Wei has promised to bounce back for the next round, resuming next weekend (27-28 October) at  Sports Arena Puchong.

“I admit, that I didn’t perform very well during the first leg. Maybe because my focus wasn’t there and thinking too far ahead of the world juniors.

“I aim to do better next weekend, hoping to help my team gain more points before flying out to Canada,” she added.