Dear friends and readers
Welcome to the first edition of the new blog for the 2012 Li Ning Australian U 19 Junior International presented by Tan and Tan Lawyers.
It was at the last minute that I decided to blog about the competition. With Judy's blessing, I thought , what the heck. I am here anyway. This will be a good record for the Australian players' foray into international level competition.
Daniel Guda who is Australia's No.1 17 boy is staying with us. He has been a delight to host.
We also have players from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia and the Philippines.
There are 43 boys in total and 20 girls.
Australia is fielding 21 boys. Indonesia has 5 boys and 4 girls. India has 1 boy and 1 girl. Malaysia has 6 players and the Philippines has 2 boys and 1 girl. The Sri Lankan contingent has 8 boys.
Jaz is the first off the block for the day.
Jaz is playing R Ranatunga from Sri Lanka. The score so far is 5/11 down for Jaz. Jaz has not found his groove yet.
The score is now 8/13. Jaz can't seem to find any weak points in his opponent's game. The Sri Lankan contingent is quite big. He gets to 10/18. The Sri Lankan player is quite a big hitter. Jaz loses the first set at 21/11.
The 2nd set is at 2/7 and Jaz's shots are not getting in. He is keeping closer at 4/7 but goes down at 5/11 and then 10/21.
Ed Xu is playing Tan VH. He just lost in 2 sets too at 21/8 and 21/12. Our kids are getting great experience. For some, this is their first taste of competition at an international level.
Matthew Teo is also out in 2 sets playing to a much older boy. He just lost 21/5 and 21/5 to Pamuditha Lahiru Ambergoda.
Kevin Huynh went down to Sachin S De Silva in 2 sets too at 13/21 and 12/21.
Ryan Courtie is next. Ryan is only 11 but he is playing a 16 year old Pamoda K Hettiarachi. He gave his best but went down 21/9 and 21/9.
Benedict Xu just lost to Sawan Serasinghe also of Australia, 13/21 and 14/21.
Tyz played the No. 1 seed Fikri Ihsandi Hadamadi from Indonesia and went down 21/3 and 21/4. He was also service faulted at least 4 times.
Alphonsus also went down 12/21 and 11/21.
Ashleigh just got out from the court. She gave a good fight but lost 21/11 and 21/11. Her mum said Ash could have won. There is this belief that our players have that they are not ready for the international stage.
Gavin Ho of Australia beat Dennis Zhao also of Australia 21/8 and 21/12.
Guda our no. Under 17 player is next on. He is playing A Mohd Shahrman Bakir. He is leading 5/1. He seems to be the only Australian player that has a chance in this competition for the boy's title. Most of the other boy's from Australia have been knocked out. The score is now 7/3. He keeps the lead at 9/5 and gets to 14/6. He gets to 21/9 for the first set. Guda has played in several international competition and has more experience than the other Aus boys.
The 2nd set is closer at 14/12 to Guda. Guda reaches 20 first but loses a few points. The Malaysian boy catches up at 22/20. Guda needs to re-focus. He is leading 6/5 but the game is tight. He is still at 8/7. He gets to 11/8. Guda gets to 14/7 and then 16/7. He finishes the game at 21/8.
Kush is playing D Yatawara from Sri Lanka. He is down 6/17. He loses the first set at 21/8. The 2nd set is better but he goes down at 21/14.
Joy Lai is also playing her game against Lya Erasalita from Indonesia. She is down at 4/6. The Indo player is much shorter but has power and accuracy. Joy is down 6/13. She gets back to 10/15 but loses at 21/12 and 21/9.
Eric Vuong from Victoria is playing S Hapuarchchi from Sri Lanka. He just lost a heart breaking 23/25 in the first set. He goes on to lose 18/21 and you could feel his disappointment.
Andre Zopf of Victoria also lost to P Kaushika Hettiarachchi 21/17 and 21/9.
Mohd Suhaimi also lost to Ari Januari of Indonesia 2/21 and 2/21.
Ruwindi Serasinghe of Australia also lost 21/11 and 21/7 to Malvinne Alcala of the Philippines.
Raymond Sing lost to Tan Vi Hen of Malaysia 21/18 and 21/6.
Yap K Yong of Malaysia lost to P Lahiru Ambegoda of Sri Lanka 21/16 and 21/12.
Jennifer Tham from NSW is playing U Illangakoon from Sri Lanka. She just lost the first set at 21/8. She is leading 3/1 for the 2nd set. Can she turn it around. She tried her best but could only manage 15/21.
Athi Selladurai of Aus also lost to Amirul Yusrizal of Malaysia 15/21 and 17/21.
Amos Yi is playing Ikmal Jaafar of Malaysia. The first game was lost at 14/21 and the 2nd game at 5/21.
Gronya had to do a walkover as she is injured.
Mark Shelley Alcala of Phillippines beat Ravindu K Ranatunga 21/15 and 21/17. Apparently he is a rising star in the Phillippines and is only turning 13 in a few mths time. But I note he is already growing a moustache?
Seng Low of Australia lost to Ai Wei Jian of Malaysia 21/10 and 21/13.
Theodore M Christop of the Phillipines lost to L Madusaha De Silva 19/21 and 18/21.
Phing is starting her game against M Baruwalage of Sri Lanka. She starts with a 3/1 lead. She gets to 7/3. Sri Lanka catches up to 6/8. Phing gets to 12/7 and seems confident. She gets to 16/10. She loses a sure winner and hits it out. Sri Lanka catches up to 15/19. Phing gets to game point and wins at 21/17.
The 2nd set looks like a tougher fight for Phing. She is just leading at 6/5. She stays calm and gets to 11/7 first. She retains the lead at 14/10. She finished the game at 21/12.
Jacqueline Guan from Victoria is also starting her game against R Hartawan of Indonesia. Jack is seeded 2 for the competition. She is leading 5/1. She gets to 15/12. The game is close as both girls seem evenly matched. Indonesia gets to 15/17. They are suddenly even at 19 all. Indonesia gets to match point first. Jack hits the return to the net and loses the set at 19/21.She needs to stay focused and fight back. The second set is even tougher.
Jack gets to 6/2 in the 2nd set. She keeps the lead at 7/4 and gets to 10/7. She gets to 11 first. Can she keep Australia in play? She gets to 15/10. The score is closer at 12/16 to Jack. She loses 2 points in a row. Indo gets to 15/17 and then 16/17. They now draw even. The score is now 18 all. Jack loses the lead. Indo falls but Jack's return net shot goes out giving Indo the match advantage. They get to 21/20 and then 21/21. Indo gets the lead again and the match point. They deuce again. Indo gets the match point again but hits the net. Indo gets match point again before Jack hits the shuttle out. What a waste. Jack must be devastated. I do not know her but I am sure I can feel her pain.
Mari Clair Mclean of Australia was also outplayed by Sachini Samarasinghe of Sri Lanka getting 3 and 6 pts
Jaz and Tyz were not able to beat their doubles opponents K Halambage and D Yatawara of Sri Lanka. They went down 21/13 and 21/9.
Amos Yi and Andre Zopf had a better game but still went down fighting 21/12 and 21/18.
The smallest doubles team were Matthew Teo and Ryan Courtie both being less than 13 years old. The bigger boys being Ikmal Jaafar and Ai We Jian played sportingly with the smaller boys. The smaller boys managed 9/21 and 5/21.
Andrew Belcher and Kush also tried their best but could not beat S Hapuarchchi and R Ranatunga of Sri Lanka. They got 16 and 11 points.
Eric Vuong and A Selladurai managed 15 and 13 against M S Alcala and Theoidore M Chrisop Co.
Alphonsus and Benedict are on court now against P Ambegoda and P Hettiarachchi of Sri Lanka.
They are down 7 points love before getting 1 pt. They get to 2/10 and have to work harder. Sri Lanka gets to 11/3. Sri Lanka gets the first set 21/12.
The 2nd game is better as Benedict has woken up. It is now 7/8 with Sri Lanka in the lead. The boys draw at 8/8. Sri Lanka gets to 11/8. Sri Lanka then puts on the engine and gets to 16/9. Sri Lanka win the game at 21/12.
Guda and Seng Low are fighting Tan Vi Hen and A Yusrizal of Malaysia. They have lost the first set. The 2nd set is looking better as they are leading 3/1. After a few bad moves they are down 5/3. Come on boys, move up a gear for Australia. Malaysia gets to 11 first. Aus is down 14/6. They claw to 9/17. They lose at 21/10.
Gavin Ho of Victoria managed 9 pts on both sets against Ikmal Jaafar of Malaysia.
Victoria Phan has pulled out because of an injury. Apparently if you do not get a medical cert, you can be fined up till $750.
Ferdinand Buddhma is playing S Mapasa of Indonesia. She managed to get 11 points in the first set. The 2nd set is not looking better as her pressured returns are going out. She gets 7 pts in the 2nd set. She eventually loses 11/21 and 7/21.
Guda plays his 3rd round game against Jonathan Cristie of Indonesia. He tries his best but loses at 21/10 and 21/13. The top boy from Australia is now out of the competition for the singles title.
Tan Vi Hen of Malaysia beat Damitha Yatawara 21/15 and 22/20.
The next game was Jaz and Ash's mixed doubles against P Lahiru Ambegoda and M D Baruwalage of Sri Lanka. Jaz and Ash were leading most of the way till they reached 18. Sri Lanka then capitalise on several mistakes and took the first set at 21/18. Jaz and ash lost their confidence and went to lose the 2nd set 21/7. Jaz is now out of the competition and is feeling really sad.
Tyz and Eunice played P Rhoma and Lya Erasalita of Indonesia. Indonesia was too strong and beat them 21/7 and 21/9.
Edmund Xu and Mari Mclean also went down to H Faisal and Ruseli Hartawan of Indonesia 21/7 and 21/9.
Andre Zopf and Joy Lai had a better fight against Eric Vuong and R Serasinghe also of Australia. However they still lost 21/17, 17/21 and 21/11. At least another Aus team proceeds to the next stage. Sawan Serasinghe and Gronya also raised the Aus flag by beating D Yatawara and U Illangakon of Sri Lanka 23/21 and 21/14.
Theodore Christop and M A Venice Alcala of Philippines beat Athi Selladurai and Jack Guan 21/13 and 21/16.
Amos Yi and Phing also lost to Seng Low and Buddhima Fernando 21/12 and 21/16. At least another Aus tream proceeds.
Daniel Guda and Jennifer Tam did us proud by beating P Hettiarachchi and S Samarasinghe 18/21, 21/10 and 21/16. Daniel gets to play another day and was so happy.
It has been a painful day for the Australian players. I told my wife it was like Gallipolli with our players dropping out of contention on the first day. This is the cruel reality of internaoitnal competition. Unfortunately we are playing at a different playing field. I spoke to the Indonesian coach and he told me that the players from his team train 5 days a week. They train in the morning and the afternoon. They live in dorms away from their families after selection by the private clubs that sponsor the players. The player's parents get paid for missing their children and seeing them during the weekend. On the other hand, us parents in Australia pay for the priviledge of getting our children trained. We really need to do something about funding.
The Philippines players are also getting better funding as the country's Vice President is also the chairperson for the badminton association. Lots of money is being poured into their junior program. I do not know the story for the Sri Lankan, Malaysian or Indian team yet.
To make things worse, at the end of the matches, my son Jazton and his partner Ash were selected for random drug testing. This is the first time he has taken part in an international competition and he gets selected out of a random number of 4 players from Australia.
I had to accompany him as he is still a minor. The drug testing process was quite complicated and involved.
At the end of the day, Guda and my boys decided they had not played enough. They asked me to bring them to Samson to play with Andrew Chai's club members.
We did not get home till 1130 pm and supper had to be served. Amos also decided he wanted to spend the night at the Tan's.
Welcome to the first edition of the new blog for the 2012 Li Ning Australian U 19 Junior International presented by Tan and Tan Lawyers.
It was at the last minute that I decided to blog about the competition. With Judy's blessing, I thought , what the heck. I am here anyway. This will be a good record for the Australian players' foray into international level competition.
Daniel Guda who is Australia's No.1 17 boy is staying with us. He has been a delight to host.
We also have players from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia and the Philippines.
There are 43 boys in total and 20 girls.
Australia is fielding 21 boys. Indonesia has 5 boys and 4 girls. India has 1 boy and 1 girl. Malaysia has 6 players and the Philippines has 2 boys and 1 girl. The Sri Lankan contingent has 8 boys.
Jaz is the first off the block for the day.
Jaz is playing R Ranatunga from Sri Lanka. The score so far is 5/11 down for Jaz. Jaz has not found his groove yet.
The score is now 8/13. Jaz can't seem to find any weak points in his opponent's game. The Sri Lankan contingent is quite big. He gets to 10/18. The Sri Lankan player is quite a big hitter. Jaz loses the first set at 21/11.
The 2nd set is at 2/7 and Jaz's shots are not getting in. He is keeping closer at 4/7 but goes down at 5/11 and then 10/21.
Ed Xu is playing Tan VH. He just lost in 2 sets too at 21/8 and 21/12. Our kids are getting great experience. For some, this is their first taste of competition at an international level.
Matthew Teo is also out in 2 sets playing to a much older boy. He just lost 21/5 and 21/5 to Pamuditha Lahiru Ambergoda.
Kevin Huynh went down to Sachin S De Silva in 2 sets too at 13/21 and 12/21.
Ryan Courtie is next. Ryan is only 11 but he is playing a 16 year old Pamoda K Hettiarachi. He gave his best but went down 21/9 and 21/9.
Benedict Xu just lost to Sawan Serasinghe also of Australia, 13/21 and 14/21.
Tyz played the No. 1 seed Fikri Ihsandi Hadamadi from Indonesia and went down 21/3 and 21/4. He was also service faulted at least 4 times.
Alphonsus also went down 12/21 and 11/21.
Ashleigh just got out from the court. She gave a good fight but lost 21/11 and 21/11. Her mum said Ash could have won. There is this belief that our players have that they are not ready for the international stage.
Gavin Ho of Australia beat Dennis Zhao also of Australia 21/8 and 21/12.
Guda our no. Under 17 player is next on. He is playing A Mohd Shahrman Bakir. He is leading 5/1. He seems to be the only Australian player that has a chance in this competition for the boy's title. Most of the other boy's from Australia have been knocked out. The score is now 7/3. He keeps the lead at 9/5 and gets to 14/6. He gets to 21/9 for the first set. Guda has played in several international competition and has more experience than the other Aus boys.
The 2nd set is closer at 14/12 to Guda. Guda reaches 20 first but loses a few points. The Malaysian boy catches up at 22/20. Guda needs to re-focus. He is leading 6/5 but the game is tight. He is still at 8/7. He gets to 11/8. Guda gets to 14/7 and then 16/7. He finishes the game at 21/8.
Kush is playing D Yatawara from Sri Lanka. He is down 6/17. He loses the first set at 21/8. The 2nd set is better but he goes down at 21/14.
Joy Lai is also playing her game against Lya Erasalita from Indonesia. She is down at 4/6. The Indo player is much shorter but has power and accuracy. Joy is down 6/13. She gets back to 10/15 but loses at 21/12 and 21/9.
Eric Vuong from Victoria is playing S Hapuarchchi from Sri Lanka. He just lost a heart breaking 23/25 in the first set. He goes on to lose 18/21 and you could feel his disappointment.
Andre Zopf of Victoria also lost to P Kaushika Hettiarachchi 21/17 and 21/9.
Mohd Suhaimi also lost to Ari Januari of Indonesia 2/21 and 2/21.
Ruwindi Serasinghe of Australia also lost 21/11 and 21/7 to Malvinne Alcala of the Philippines.
Raymond Sing lost to Tan Vi Hen of Malaysia 21/18 and 21/6.
Yap K Yong of Malaysia lost to P Lahiru Ambegoda of Sri Lanka 21/16 and 21/12.
Jennifer Tham from NSW is playing U Illangakoon from Sri Lanka. She just lost the first set at 21/8. She is leading 3/1 for the 2nd set. Can she turn it around. She tried her best but could only manage 15/21.
Athi Selladurai of Aus also lost to Amirul Yusrizal of Malaysia 15/21 and 17/21.
Amos Yi is playing Ikmal Jaafar of Malaysia. The first game was lost at 14/21 and the 2nd game at 5/21.
Gronya had to do a walkover as she is injured.
Mark Shelley Alcala of Phillippines beat Ravindu K Ranatunga 21/15 and 21/17. Apparently he is a rising star in the Phillippines and is only turning 13 in a few mths time. But I note he is already growing a moustache?
Seng Low of Australia lost to Ai Wei Jian of Malaysia 21/10 and 21/13.
Theodore M Christop of the Phillipines lost to L Madusaha De Silva 19/21 and 18/21.
Phing is starting her game against M Baruwalage of Sri Lanka. She starts with a 3/1 lead. She gets to 7/3. Sri Lanka catches up to 6/8. Phing gets to 12/7 and seems confident. She gets to 16/10. She loses a sure winner and hits it out. Sri Lanka catches up to 15/19. Phing gets to game point and wins at 21/17.
The 2nd set looks like a tougher fight for Phing. She is just leading at 6/5. She stays calm and gets to 11/7 first. She retains the lead at 14/10. She finished the game at 21/12.
Jacqueline Guan from Victoria is also starting her game against R Hartawan of Indonesia. Jack is seeded 2 for the competition. She is leading 5/1. She gets to 15/12. The game is close as both girls seem evenly matched. Indonesia gets to 15/17. They are suddenly even at 19 all. Indonesia gets to match point first. Jack hits the return to the net and loses the set at 19/21.She needs to stay focused and fight back. The second set is even tougher.
Jack gets to 6/2 in the 2nd set. She keeps the lead at 7/4 and gets to 10/7. She gets to 11 first. Can she keep Australia in play? She gets to 15/10. The score is closer at 12/16 to Jack. She loses 2 points in a row. Indo gets to 15/17 and then 16/17. They now draw even. The score is now 18 all. Jack loses the lead. Indo falls but Jack's return net shot goes out giving Indo the match advantage. They get to 21/20 and then 21/21. Indo gets the lead again and the match point. They deuce again. Indo gets the match point again but hits the net. Indo gets match point again before Jack hits the shuttle out. What a waste. Jack must be devastated. I do not know her but I am sure I can feel her pain.
Mari Clair Mclean of Australia was also outplayed by Sachini Samarasinghe of Sri Lanka getting 3 and 6 pts
Jaz and Tyz were not able to beat their doubles opponents K Halambage and D Yatawara of Sri Lanka. They went down 21/13 and 21/9.
Amos Yi and Andre Zopf had a better game but still went down fighting 21/12 and 21/18.
The smallest doubles team were Matthew Teo and Ryan Courtie both being less than 13 years old. The bigger boys being Ikmal Jaafar and Ai We Jian played sportingly with the smaller boys. The smaller boys managed 9/21 and 5/21.
Andrew Belcher and Kush also tried their best but could not beat S Hapuarchchi and R Ranatunga of Sri Lanka. They got 16 and 11 points.
Eric Vuong and A Selladurai managed 15 and 13 against M S Alcala and Theoidore M Chrisop Co.
Alphonsus and Benedict are on court now against P Ambegoda and P Hettiarachchi of Sri Lanka.
They are down 7 points love before getting 1 pt. They get to 2/10 and have to work harder. Sri Lanka gets to 11/3. Sri Lanka gets the first set 21/12.
The 2nd game is better as Benedict has woken up. It is now 7/8 with Sri Lanka in the lead. The boys draw at 8/8. Sri Lanka gets to 11/8. Sri Lanka then puts on the engine and gets to 16/9. Sri Lanka win the game at 21/12.
Guda and Seng Low are fighting Tan Vi Hen and A Yusrizal of Malaysia. They have lost the first set. The 2nd set is looking better as they are leading 3/1. After a few bad moves they are down 5/3. Come on boys, move up a gear for Australia. Malaysia gets to 11 first. Aus is down 14/6. They claw to 9/17. They lose at 21/10.
 |
| Jaz v R Ranatunga of Sri Lanka |
 |
| Edmund v Tan V Hen of Malaysia |
 | |||||
| Tyz v the No. 1 seed from Indo |
Gavin Ho of Victoria managed 9 pts on both sets against Ikmal Jaafar of Malaysia.
Victoria Phan has pulled out because of an injury. Apparently if you do not get a medical cert, you can be fined up till $750.
Ferdinand Buddhma is playing S Mapasa of Indonesia. She managed to get 11 points in the first set. The 2nd set is not looking better as her pressured returns are going out. She gets 7 pts in the 2nd set. She eventually loses 11/21 and 7/21.
 | |||
| Ben Xu v Serasinghe of Aus |
 | ||
| Alphonsus v Ah Yusrizal of Malaysia |
 |
| Mohd Suhaimi v A Januari of Indonesia |
Guda plays his 3rd round game against Jonathan Cristie of Indonesia. He tries his best but loses at 21/10 and 21/13. The top boy from Australia is now out of the competition for the singles title.
Tan Vi Hen of Malaysia beat Damitha Yatawara 21/15 and 22/20.
 |
| Ash and Jaz v the Sri Lankans |
 |
| Tyz and Eunice vs the Indos |
 |
| Ryan and Matthew, the youngest players |
 |
| The committee hard at work |
The next game was Jaz and Ash's mixed doubles against P Lahiru Ambegoda and M D Baruwalage of Sri Lanka. Jaz and Ash were leading most of the way till they reached 18. Sri Lanka then capitalise on several mistakes and took the first set at 21/18. Jaz and ash lost their confidence and went to lose the 2nd set 21/7. Jaz is now out of the competition and is feeling really sad.
Tyz and Eunice played P Rhoma and Lya Erasalita of Indonesia. Indonesia was too strong and beat them 21/7 and 21/9.
 | ||
| Ashleigh v Baruwalage of Sri Lanka |
 |
| Guda v J Christie of Indo |
Edmund Xu and Mari Mclean also went down to H Faisal and Ruseli Hartawan of Indonesia 21/7 and 21/9.
Andre Zopf and Joy Lai had a better fight against Eric Vuong and R Serasinghe also of Australia. However they still lost 21/17, 17/21 and 21/11. At least another Aus team proceeds to the next stage. Sawan Serasinghe and Gronya also raised the Aus flag by beating D Yatawara and U Illangakon of Sri Lanka 23/21 and 21/14.
Theodore Christop and M A Venice Alcala of Philippines beat Athi Selladurai and Jack Guan 21/13 and 21/16.
Amos Yi and Phing also lost to Seng Low and Buddhima Fernando 21/12 and 21/16. At least another Aus tream proceeds.
Daniel Guda and Jennifer Tam did us proud by beating P Hettiarachchi and S Samarasinghe 18/21, 21/10 and 21/16. Daniel gets to play another day and was so happy.
It has been a painful day for the Australian players. I told my wife it was like Gallipolli with our players dropping out of contention on the first day. This is the cruel reality of internaoitnal competition. Unfortunately we are playing at a different playing field. I spoke to the Indonesian coach and he told me that the players from his team train 5 days a week. They train in the morning and the afternoon. They live in dorms away from their families after selection by the private clubs that sponsor the players. The player's parents get paid for missing their children and seeing them during the weekend. On the other hand, us parents in Australia pay for the priviledge of getting our children trained. We really need to do something about funding.
The Philippines players are also getting better funding as the country's Vice President is also the chairperson for the badminton association. Lots of money is being poured into their junior program. I do not know the story for the Sri Lankan, Malaysian or Indian team yet.
To make things worse, at the end of the matches, my son Jazton and his partner Ash were selected for random drug testing. This is the first time he has taken part in an international competition and he gets selected out of a random number of 4 players from Australia.
I had to accompany him as he is still a minor. The drug testing process was quite complicated and involved.
At the end of the day, Guda and my boys decided they had not played enough. They asked me to bring them to Samson to play with Andrew Chai's club members.
We did not get home till 1130 pm and supper had to be served. Amos also decided he wanted to spend the night at the Tan's.
 |
| Joy Lai vs Indo, can you see the beautiful umpire seated to the left |
No comments:
Post a Comment