Ang gains in Asian jr b’minton

Kelvin Tim Ang pulled off a come-from-behind win over Pham Cao Hieu of Vietnam, 15-21, 21-12, 21-14, late Wednesday night to advance into the next round of the boys’ individual competition of the Asian Juniors Team Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The 15-year old junior standout, a product of tough developmental program of the Philippine Badminton Association (PBA) under national coach Errol Chan, settled down to clinch the victory that more than made up for the loss of the Philippines-backed Yonex team in the team event.

The Nationals lost to powerhouse HongKong-China side, 0-3, in the fourth round, dropping their first matches in team competition after four games. Still, the Philippines hopes to make it to the medal round.

"We had a good start. But we can still make it to the medal round if we survive the succeeding matches. We’re also doing well in the individual event," said Chan.

Ang lost his bearings against Wong Shu Ki, 14-21, 12-21, in the boys’ singles; while Raquel Guerrero was overwhelmed by Chan Tsz Ka, 11-21, 11-21, in the girls’ singles and the tandem of Bryan Chan and Rachel Guerrero came out short in their match against Lau Chi Yin and Yeung Hiu Tung, 23-25, 15-21, in the mixed doubles.

Ang and Bryan Chan also shone beating the tandem of Ali Murad and Ghazali Zaran, 20-22, 21-19, 30-29. The Philippines earlier demolished Jordan (5-0), Cambodia (5-0) and Pakistan (5-0) putting the Nationals on track to make it to the medal round with