S’pore, VN women cruise to badminton semis

Singaporean players Jin Yujia and Wong Jia Ying Crystal  (red) play against  Albo Airah Mae Nicole and Pomar Thea Marie of the Philippines in the women’s doubles on May 16 at the Bắc Giang Sports Competition Hall. —  VNA/VNS Photo Danh Lam

By Việt Thắng

HÀ NỘI – Việt Nam and Singaporean players are heading to the semi-finals in the women’s team badminton after successful matches on May 16.

The women’s team badminton quarter-finals were between Việt Nam and Malaysia, and Singapore and the Philippines at the Bắc Giang Sports Competition Hall.

Việt Nam's players put on a dominant show right from the start, defeating Malaysia's team in three matches, and losing one match.

In the opening game, Nguyễn Thùy Linh, the top seed in Việt Nam's women’s team, used her home advantage and the enthusiastic cheers of local audiences to prevail over her opponent Nurshuhaini Siti (Malaysia). Nurshuhaini was blown away 21-9 and 21-8.

Linh said she recognised that her rival was young and her movement was not too fast, so decided to speed up her performance to rapidly beat her.

Vũ Thị Trang was on after Linh to compete with another Malaysian, Zulaikha Siti. Veteran Trang did not disappoint spectators, dominating the Malaysian with a score of 21-9 and 21-7.

Unluckily, Đinh Thị Phương Hồng and Đỗ Thị Hoài of Việt Nam were ousted in the women's doubles despite their best efforts. The Vietnamese pair could not take advantage of their luck when facing Malaysians Go Pei Kee and Yap Ling, losing 2-1

Vũ Thị Anh Thư of Việt Nam beat Ong Xin Yee of Malaysia in the women's singles event with a 2-0 victory. The victory helped them advance to the semi-finals in the women’s team event.

Also, in the women's doubles, Singaporean players showed their skill by beating the Philippines in three matches to head to the semi-finals.

The four teams in the semis are Singapore, Indonesia, Việt Nam and Thailand.

All badminton matches take place at the Bắc Giang Sports Competition Hall from May 16 to 22.

The 4,500-seat gymnasium meets international standards and is one of the most modern of its kind in the northern region.