Axiata Cup: Victory brings tears

he death of shuttler Ow Yao Han’s father overshadowed the Malaysian Leopards’ semi-final qualification after a hard-fought win over Vietnam in the Axiata Cup in Jakarta.
Yao Han’s father died minutes before his son took to the court.
His father was at home in Malacca watching television when he died. He was apparently waiting to watch Yao Han in action.

On the way: Ow Yao Han (left) and Chooi Kah Ming easily beat Vietnamese pair Bui Bang Duc-Dao Manh Thang in the Axiata Cup in Indonesia yesterday. Yao Han’s father died before he took to court.

Yao Han, unaware of his father’s death, went on to partner Chooi Kah Ming to a 21-8,21-8 victory over Bui Bang Duc-Dao Manh Thang to level the tie at one apiece.
World No. 12 Nguyen Tien Minh had earlier given Vietnam the lead after outclassing Misbun Ramdan Misbun 21-10, 21-15.
“I received a call from Yao Han’s sister, minutes before he and Kah Ming were about to play, that his father had passed away,” said national doubles head coach Tan Kim Her.
“We were unable to contact Yao Han at the time because he was about to go on court and we only told him after the game.
The duo left Jakarta after their match and arrived home last night.
Meanwhile, world junior champion Zulfadli Zulkifli was the toast of the team when he defeated Nguyen Hoang Nam 21-19, 16-21, 21-14 to give Malaysia a 2-1 win and a place in the semi-finals.
“We were confident of winning but it was harder than we thought because our focus was on Tien Minh only,” said the lanky 19-year-old Zulfadli.
“Hoang Nam caught me by surprise because he played very well. Luckily, we’ve achieved our target of reaching the semi-finals.
“Now, we just have to be patient in our final game and wait for our semi-final opponents.”
The Leopard will take on a first string Indonesia Garuda today in a match to decide the group winners. The Garudas, led by Taufik Hidayat, demolished Singapore 3-0.
Courtesy of The Star