Being away to Kedah and Perlis meant mad redo1 missed the FA Cup matches between T-Team and Kelantan. Then the planned extra trip to Penang to catch USM FC vs Terengganu at the USM Athletic Stadium had to be shelved due to lack of time.
While back home the National Badminton Circuits Finals were being held at the State Stadium in Kuala Terengganu from 18-21 February 2011. However with mad redo1 checking in at 2230hrs on Sunday meant he only had the final day itself to get some shots of the actions.
The main draw for the finals of course the Men's Single Final between World No.1 Dato' Lee Chong Wei against youngster Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif who defeated several seeded players to qualify for his first national final.
The Mixed Doubles match was underway when mad redo1 stepped into the arena. The title was being contested by Tan Boon Heong-Chin Eei Hui against Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying. The latter won the first set but Tan and Chin fought back to win the next two sets and clinched the title with a 13-21, 21-18, 21-16 score.
Then it was the Women's Singles Final between defending champions Tee Jing Yi and Sonia Cheah. The match also went to rubber set after Sonia tied the score after losing the first set. However Tee was in her element in the deciding set to clinch her second successive National title with a 21-14, 15-21, 21-14 result.
By this time the arena was packing up with badminton fans eager to catch their hero Chong Wei in action against the young upstart, Mohamad Arif.
However, when the match started, it was clear the gulf of class was that big between the World No.1 and the 22 year old shuttler from Negeri Sembilan. Trying hard as he might Arif was clearly not on parity in terms of ability and experience with Chong Wei who was playing for his ninth National title.
However, one could see there was grit and determination in the youngster's game and given more time and exposure he could fulfill his potential to become an international class player.
However, this time Arif bowed to Chong Wei who wrapped the match with the score of 21-16, 21-15 in 40 minutes. Still the crowd seemed to be generally satisfied and entertained with the match.
The next two finals saw both the Women's Doubles and Men's Doubles took place. Despite not featuring top pairs in the country, the number of crowd that stayed on till the end were quite large.
The partnership of Ng Poau Leng-Woon Khe Wei clinched the Women's Double title with a straight set victory of 21-18, 21-10 over Chong Sook Chin-Goh Liu Ying. While the last title of the night was won by the pair Tan Boon Heong-Hoon Thien How who defeated Ong Soon Hock-Fairuzizuan Tazari 21-14, 10-21, 21-19.
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