Twins Aida, Aina share big dreams
SMK Sri Aman’s Hisma Aida and Hisma Aina hope to one day become the most popular identical female twins in badminton.
The sisters, born four minutes apart, began their campaign at the inaugural Allianz Junior Badminton Championship 2022 with relative ease.
Aina defeated Wong Le Xuan 30-12 in the first round of the under-15 girl’s singles, while Aida received a bye. The twins will also compete in the doubles event at the Sports Arena Puchong.
"We are confident of performing to our expectation. It is a very challenging tournament with talented players from all over the state," said Aida, who with her sister is looking forward to reaching the finals of both the singles and doubles events.
Dillon Choo: It's not over for me
Multi-talented Dillon Choo faced disappointment as his journey in the Allianz Junior Badminton Championship ended with a second-round defeat to Yap Chun Le in the under-15 boy’s singles category..
Dillon, who also holds a junior black belt in taekwondo and is a competitive swimmer, is determined to learn from his mistakes and improve his game further.
"I am very disappointed by the defeat. I made too many errors and have a lot of areas to improve," said Dillon, who received a sports scholarship to pursue his studies at Sunway International School.
"I only started playing badminton in 2019 and enjoy the game. But today's defeat is a learning experience," he added.
Muhammad Aska Harris has a smashing good time!
Despite standing only three feet tall, tournament hopeful Muhammad Aska Harris, eight, packs a powerful smash!
The pint-sized ace, along with his sister Auni Syaafiyah (11) and brother Mohd Amsyar Nasrullah Zailan (12), joined 33 other junior shuttlers at the Allianz Junior Badminton Coaching Clinic in Kemaman, Terengganu, with former national players Mohamad Zakry Latif and Mohamed Ariff Latif.
"Today, I picked up new tips on how to smash. I enjoyed the session. I hope Allianz will organise more coaching sessions and tournaments," Aska said.
Amsyar echoed that he was equally excited about the opportunity to learn from the former national stars.
"It's not always that we get to watch and learn from good coaches. Not only did I get to improve my skills and knowledge, but also I made so many new friends."
The two-hour clinic was held on the eve of the Allianz Junior Badminton Championship qualifying round at Dewan Badminton Masterscaff in Bandar Baru Bukit Montok, Chukai.
Tham-Chew in the spotlight
Tham Jun Xuan and Chew Ze Hong’s on-court chemistry made them a crowd favourite at the Allianz Junior Badminton Championship 2022.
The duo, playing their first tournament together, combined superbly to deliver a stunning performance, beating Hafiq Haikal and Muhammad Aliff Ikhwan 30-4 during their first-round match.
"This is the first time we partnered up, and I am happy with our performance," said Tham, who studies at Taylor's International School.
Tham has also qualified for the fourth round of the under-13 boy’s singles event.