PUTRAJAYA (22 December 2021): Seremban City Badminton Club came out victors in the battle of the cities on the second day of the Top Glove Purple League Pro-Am 2021 (TGPLPA) tournament in Putrajaya today.
Seremban City BC brushed aside neighbours Bangi City 11-4 and kept up the momentum in their bid to finish top of the group after having defeated DSBC Labuan 12-4 in their opening tie yesterday.
Despite Seremban’s City gallant run all eyes were on DSBC Labuan’s up and coming singles player Arena Satu Samin who upset former national player Goh Jin Wei of Butterworth BC yesterday.
Arena, who won the Singapore Youth International Series 2019 (U-17), picked up where she left off yesterday, as she beat Serdang BC’s Teh Won Quin (11-4, 8-11, 11-3, 11-6) this afternoon on Court 2.
A delighted Arena said “though I feel very exhausted today, I am happy that I have managed to give my best in this game. I expect to retain the same momentum as today throughout the tournament. I also hope that I can contribute more points to my team by winning my upcoming matches.”
On Court 1, Seremban City started off brilliantly as their mixed doubles pair of Ng Wan Win – Tan Kok Xian defeated Mohd Najmi – Siti Farhanah of Bangi City BC (11-7, 11-4, 11-10).
However, the team from the west coast were stopped in their tracks when their men’s singles player Gagan Jit Singh lost to Muhd Ikmal Aizat (6-11, 10-11, 11-9, 9-11).
Seremban City BC recovered during their third game as N. Saranya defeated Nurul Aisyah (10-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-5) in the women’s singles.
Seremban City BC shattered Bangi City BC’s chances of overturning their fortunes when Muhd Amar – Muhd Amir defeated Fawwaz Zainuddin – Muhd Aizat (11-5, 11-9, 11-5) in straight sets in the men’s doubles.
Despite having to retire their player Ng Qi Xuan due to an ankle injury and in turn forfeiting the match in the women’s dubles, Seremban City sealed their (4-11) victory due to their positive results from their previous 4 games.
Former national men’s doubles player and Seremban City BC’s coach, Zakry Abdul Latif was delighted with his team fighting spirit by overcoming their disappointing results on the first day.
He said “after having won two games in a row, on behalf of my team, I do not want to be overconfident. We have yet to meet the tougher opponents in this competition. I believe that our real test will begin tomorrow as we will be facing Serdang BC and Butterworth BC on Friday.”
He added “we are aware that we have a player down due to an injury, hence we will have to make some tactical changes in our upcoming match and God willing we hope to continue our current form”.
The morning fixture of the second day saw Ampang Jaya BC and Rawang BC beating their opponents. Ampang Jaya BC defeated Bandar Maharani BC (12-10) while Rawang BC overpowered Jinjang BC (15-8).
The second day will conclude with Petaling Jaya BC facing Rawang BC and Jinjang BC clashing with Bandar Maharani BC respectively at 6:00 pm. Rawang BC will be eager to end their day without a defeat while both Jinjang BC and Bandar Maharani BC will be looking to make amends their early losses.
The TGPLPA will continue all week at the Kompleks Kejiranan Presint 11 in Putrajaya. The 10 teams will compete in a single round-robin format in their respective groups and the top 2 teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals.
