TheStar ALOR STAR: If there is a prize for sheer grit at the ongoing Kedah Open Badminton Championship, teenager Lydia Cheah would win it hands down. Just a day after being knocked down by a motorcycle, the Bukit Jalil Sports School student defied pain and injury to step onto the court to face M. Sutheaswari in the women's singles quarter-final last night. Lydia was knocked down by a motorcycle while crossing the road to return to her hotel after having a meal with several other players on Thursday evening. She suffered head injuries when she fell and also had wounds on both her legs and left hand. Luckily for her, her right hand, which she uses to hold the racquet, was not hurt in the mishap. BAM team manager Hou Kim Tho, who rushed Lydia to a private hospital nearby, said he had initially been worried about her condition. “There was a lot of bleeding and she also had a head injury. Thankfully, scans revealed no internal injuries,†said Kim Tho. Despite being asked to take a rest by the officials as well as her parents, who came from Kuala Lumpur to watch her, Lydia was set on playing. “The wounds look bad, but I am still able to move without much difficulty. Although there is some pain when I jump to smash, I believe I can still put up a good fight,†said Lydia before facing Sutheaswari. She added that it would be disappointing for her to make the journey back to Kuala Lumpur without even hitting a shuttle. “It is extremely bad luck to be knocked down by a motorcycle on the eve of my first match. “But I had already set my mind on playing in the Kedah Open and will play as long as I can hit the shuttle and move around the court,†said the reigning national under-15 champion. The 16-year-old Lydia gained prominence in the national badminton scene last year by becoming the youngest ever finalist in a National Grand Prix Finals singles event. She failed to go one step further to become the youngest national women's singles champion after going down to national shuttler Anita Raj Kaur in the final in Ipoh.
