Singapore exit with wins in Thomas and Uber cups

SINGAPORE - Singapore's badminton contingent completed their 2014 Thomas and Uber Cup campaigns on a positive note when both the men's and women's teams secured victories in their final group games in New Delhi in India yesterday.

The men won 5-0 against Nigeria to finish third in Group A of the Thomas Cup, behind Indonesia and Thailand.

The women also secured third place in Group X of the Uber Cup, behind South Korea and Indonesia, after a 5-0 defeat of Australia at the Siri Fort Sports Complex in the Indian capital.

Although both teams exited the tournament early after losing their first two of three group games, Ronnie Lim, chief executive officer of the Singapore Badminton Association, was still pleased with their overall performance.

"Our players have gained invaluable experience from being exposed to such a prestigious tournament. The immediate focus is to evaluate the players' performance and work on their strengths and weaknesses for the upcoming Commonwealth and Asian Games."

In the men's event, Derek Wong defeated Jinkan Ifraimu Bulus 21-14, 21-8.

Huang Chao dispatched Enejoh Abah 21-10, 21-19 and Sean Lee triumphed over Victor Makanju 21-18, 21-12.

The doubles pairing of Danny Bawa Chrisnanta and Terry Hee beat Abah and Makanju 21-7, 21-11.

Huang and Lee saw off Bulus and Ola Fagbemi 21-10, 21-12.

In the women's singles, Liang Xiaoyu defeated Verdet Kessler 21-10, 21-15 while Chen Jiayuan and Fu Mingtian beat Tara Pilven 21-11, 21-15, and Joy Lai 21-15, 21-14 respectively.

In the doubles, Yao Lei and Shinta Mulia Sari recorded a 21-18, 21-12 win over Renuga Veeran and Tang He Tian.

Vanessa Neo and Tan Wei Han were also victorious, defeating Gronya Somerville and Jacqueline Guan 21-7, 21-17.

This article was first published on May 22, 2014.
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