Cheers, a 24 x 7 operating hours chain of about 70 convenience stores in Singapore, has again sponsored this year's Singapore Age Group tournaments. The response this year is so overwhelming that SBA has to concentrate on the singles events first. In fact last year's entries were a record, therefore it must be most gratifying to the organisers that this tourney continues to attract greater student participation in the main. The tournament has actually started last Friday 16 June and the Finals will be played on Saturday, 24 June. The following statistics tell the story: Event: U11 / U13 / U15 / U17 / Sub-Total / Adults / Total 2006 2005 Figures in brackets Boys: 256 (73)/ 256 (129)/ 256 (179)/ 256 (128)/ 1024 (509)/128 (82)/1152 (591) % Increase: 250 / 98 / 43/ 100 / 101/ 56 / 95 Girls: 64 (38)/ 128 (50)/ 128 (80)/ 64 (42)/ 384 (210)/ 32 (19)/ 416 (229) % Increase: 68/ 156 / 60 / 52 / 83 / 68 / 82 From the above, it shows that the highest increase of 250% comes from the Boys U11 followed by Girls U13 (156%). I guess the maximum of 256 slots is all that the SBA is able to cater to and it is heartening to see all the student categories filled up to the hilt! The total number of male participants almost doubled from 591 to 1152, with the student population actually more than doubled from 509 entries to 1,024. The girls total also registered a healthy 83% gain from 210 participants to 384, with the adult interest jumping form merely 19 to 32 this year. However, unlike the boys which saw the greatest participation in the U11 category, it is the Girls U13 category which had the most increase of 156%, or 128 entries against last year's 50 only. Maybe the girls start badminton at a slightly older age at a year or two later. Of course this is not the true number of school enthusiasts playing the badminton game. The number should be much larger. It is therefore a very good sign for Singapore badminton especially now that we are getting many more participants at such an official tournament as this Cheers Age Group and they are coming in big at lower age-groups for both boys and girls. The organisers certainly make full use of the month-long June school holidays to get our kids excited and it comes close on the heels of the prestigious 5-star Aviva Open Singapore 2006 grand prix event. A pat on the back for all involved especially the SBA!
You're sweet seventeen, a young man never been kissed. Then you think it over how much you've missed!
Pigtail versus Ponytail The Cheers Age-Group Singles Tournamant came to a successful close last Saturday when the Finals of both the Plate and Main Singles Events were concluded in the morning and afternoon respectively. The Doubles Tournament will be held in September, also during the school holidays. The tournament was well run and had the flavour of an international championships though on a much smaller scale. Internet reporting and players' information plus daily updates were available on a timely basis. Even electronic scores were used to update spectators. But the Singapore Badminton Hall remained more or less the same old building, non-airconditioned, although it was renovated not too long ago. Two major changes must have benefitted the players - the rubberized courts and the tight rows of low flourescent lighting along the aisles that do not hurt the eyes too much. For the spectators, ceiling fans were added to make the heat more bearable but the concrete seats were as hard as ever. As with many tournaments, there were a few surprises when seeded players fell early and even a few top seeds had to concede defeat. I will report initially in pics on the Girls U-11 Final for girls about 10 years' old and below 11 on January 1st, 2006. Though much smaller in size than their seniors and standing well below the net, the two feisty fighters showed they could really hit the shuttle good and hard and provided lots of entertainment along the way. In the end, the taller but unseeded Grace Chua , who represented SAFRA-Mt Faber and with her hair done the 'Mah Jia' Pigtail style surprised no.1 seed, Western Ponytail Chua K-Lynn, with a straight games win of 21-13, 21-16. K-Lynn comes from the well known academic and 'badminton' school, Tao Nan School. Grace had the distinction of beating no.3/4 seed Gayle Lee of Tao Nan in the QF and Gladys Goh E-Xin of Gongshang Primary in the SF. Gladys Goh herself surprised by beating no.2 seed Lee Shu Zhen of Tao Nan. I hope all those girls who showed lots of promise, especially these two cute finalists, will continue to play and represent Singapore one day.
my goodness ......... how come I missed this one ? I would like to see a new generation of badminton players .......
About Grace... Grace Chua is not an unknown if you are familiar with the local badminton circuit. She is higher rank in our national junior training squad and is training simultanoeusly under Simon Koh as well as our National Youth Squad under Pan Zhengli. She is very strong and lob base to base even with overhead shots to cover her weak backhand. Her smashes down the line and cross smashes are her winning strategy. She is unseeded in this tournament because she did not participate in last year cheers tournament. Klynn loss is anticiapted as Grace is so much stronger.
Thanks Kok Keong for introducing us to Grace. No wonder she is a delight to watch. Lynn is not bad either and she will grow taller and stronger with time and training. Just like the tiny Ting Ting when she first joined the Sports School and played her first tournament and look at her now, three years later and the U17 champion! Hope they will continue to enjoy the game. Hi Maa2003, it's a pity you missed the whole week's action of badminton galore among our youngsters. Come September, you should not miss the doubles. They used to have both Singles and Doubles together but because of the overwhelming response, which is great for Singapore Badminton, they have to break them up and utilize both the school holdays. It is expected that entries for the Doubles will be less overwhelming as September has just a week's holday. The court size and other conditions remain the same for all competitors, even for those below 11 years. It is good in the sense that they are inducted into the same system and conditions when they are young and they will grow familiar with them as they themselves grow up.
Its good to hear that Badminton is catching up and developing fast in Spore. I'm sure one day..one of these youngsters will definately shine in the international tourneys.
wait i tik we will see a bigger increase in badminton players when the dragon babies start playing but the thought of losing to gal is very malu ... i lost to a VN gal from my school that why i must train harder sleep sounder dream better
Singapore Sports School Girls Made Impact I was happy to see many of the SSS girls appearing in the finals but only one boy, Tan Kia Hwee, in the Boys U15. The first batch should now be in their third year and should be around 15-16 years old. So they will not participate in U11 and U13. Notable among the girls are the following: U15: Noriko Goh (Runner-Up) Though seeded no.1, Noriko lost in two games, 18-21, 18-21, to an unseeded Thai student, Tanapat Pisitpong from Keat Youngster Training Centre, who must have arrived in Singapore for studies not long ago as she did not play last year. A number of talented players from Thailand have chosen to study in Singapore and they are making a mark in the Singapore badminton scene, apart from also a few from Indonesia who are studying in Monfort Secondary School. Noriko must learn to be more composed and focused if she wants to win more competitions. U-17: Thng Ting Ting (Champion), Mok Jing Qiong (Runner-up) Ting Ting has now grown much taller and stronger. She covers the court better and is faster, and her strokes are more powerful than when I first saw her play. Her power completely overwhelmed Jing Qiong who lost 6-21, 13-21 in 20 min. If Ting Ting continues to put in good effort in her training she may well be promoted to our National women's squad after she graduates from SSS. Women's Singles: Valerie Wang Mei Yu opted for WS although I doubt she is above 17. But she had to face Colleen Goh, a National Women's Singles champion before and now a Junior College student representing Singapore Combined Schools. As a result, Valerie submitted meekly, obtaining 15 and 11 points in straight games. However, Valerie has been selected as one of four girls for team training and may possibly have a chance to represent Singapore in the forthcoming Asian Junior Championships in KL in July. All our girls' pretty faces:
absolutely cool. i love to see pro kids play badminton and qianer: i lost to a girl before too because i forgot she needed 11 points. lol actually i lost to quite a number of girls.......they're all good players. but that's singles. it's quite hard for girls to win boys in doubles.....at least that's what i think
Like Father Like Son Two former Singapore National Men's Singles champions, Wong Shoon Keat and Hamid Khan, may well have their sons following their footsteps. Both are now coaches, with Shoon Keat more actively involved with his badminton equipment retail outlet at SBA and his Keat Youngster Traning Centre. In addition he is also in the SBA Management Coimmittee. Shoon Keat's son, Derek Wong Zi Liang, who has recently completed his secondary education, is now training full time with the National squad and will lead the men's team to the Asian Junior Championships in KL Hamid Khan's son, Imran Khan Muhamad from Elias Park Primary School, just won the Boys' U11 Cheers Age Group title. He was involved in an exciting match with Chin An Eng from Sintec Badminton Training Centre, winning 14-21, 21-16, 21-16 in 40 min. As they say, "Like Father Like Son", hopefully. This year, apart from the schools, the badminton training centres and clubs are also sending their trainees to this tournament for the experience and exposure. This is a good sign and they include the following: * Flymax Badminton Academy * Elite Badminton Club * Rainbow Badminton Club * Chinese Swimming Club * Keat Youngster Training Centre * Sintec Badminton Training Centre * Zheng & Lin Badminton Training Centre * Mayflower Badminton Party * Warren Golf & Country Club * Yue Yang Badminton Training Centre