“2016 Badminton Asia Championships” was held in Wuhan Sports Center Stadium from 26th April to 1st May. Led by Lin Yuan Xiang, the coach of Macau National Badminton Team, 3 athletes – Pui Pang Fong, Che Pui Ngai, Chan Kit Lei respectively participated in 3 competitions, which are men’s singles, women’s singles and men’s doubles. As the Championships was the final Olympic qualifying competition, it attracted plenty of master athletes in Asia. The level of the Championships was nothing less than that of BWF World Championships.
The preliminary match of the Championships was a round robin. The winners of group matches would enter the 2nd stage – elimination round of 32. During the group matches, Macao athletes Pui Pang Fong and Che Pui Ngai was in group C of men’s doubles together with Sri Lanka and Jordan. Pui Pang Fong and the athletes of Singapore and Uzbekistan were in group C of men’s single. Chan Kit Lei was in group A with Indonesian representative.
Zealous Men’s Pair Match between Macao and Jordan
The heats started on 26th April. Pui Pang Fong and Che Pui Ngai encountered the Jordan team in men’s doubles. The Macao team was determined in attack and defense. Macao lost 16-21 in the first game. Starting from the second game, thanks to the coach’s guidance and the team’s adjustment, the Macao team got back on the track and became aggressively competitive. After score-all for many times, the Macao team grasped the chance and won 4 scores continuously, winning a game back with 21-17. In the final game, the Macao team lost 5 scores in a row when it was 4-4, eventually caused the team lost 17-21. The Macao team did not make to the second stage.
In group matches of men’s singles, Pui Pang Fong lost in the first match against the Uzbekistan team at 19-21 and 17-21, the loss to Singapore afterwards had stopped the Macao team from entering the next stage; in women’s singles, Chan Kit Lei encountered the Indonesian team and lost the match 0-2.
Anticipation of Young Athletes’ Breakthrough
In this competition of such a high level, the Macao team was able to bring what they had even facing the masters in Asia. Lin Yuan Xiang expressed his hope that the young athletes in Macao will find more breakthrough opportunities in external competitions.
In this edition of Badminton Asia Championships, Badminton Federation of Macau also dispatched referees to participate in the event and gained more experiences in major competitions. Through the technical exchange with foreign referees, the ability of regulation enforcement of local referees could be enhanced.
