SEA GAMES Finals – Chong Wei Feng clinches maiden major title

The 2015 edition of SEA Games finals concluded with Malaysia and Indonesia snatching two gold medals each and Thailand bagging the last. Chong Wei Feng created history in his professional career by winning his first ever individual title in men’s singles while Busanan Ongbamrungphan successfully upgraded her silver medal from 2013 to a gold medal this year.

Serla Rusli, Badzine Correspondent live from Singapore Indoor Stadium. Photos: Serla Rusli (live)

It might have looked like an easy win for Wei Feng in the finals, winning against compatriot Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif 21-8, 21-9, but it had taken him a great deal to get to this point. In a year marred with injury as well as disappointment from being overlooked from the World Championships list, Wei Feng proved his worth by closing his hand on the coveted men’s singles title in Singapore.

En route to the finals, Wei Feng had tough matches lined up for him. He had to battle against Jonatan Christie from Indonesia in the quarter-final and thwart the top seed and defending champion Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk in the semi-final.  Both these matches stretched to three games and truly tested his physique and mental strength.

“I feel really happy. It is actually my first time in the finals of any big tournaments so I’m really happy,” said Wei Feng. This year’s SEA Games is a stark improvement from his performance two years ago in Myanmar where he had to exit in the first round.

“Two years ago the SEA Games was the first big tournament for me. Over the two years, I also participated in other major tournaments for the first time such as Thomas Cup and Asian Games. So I’m glad that in my second time in SEA Games I can actually bring home a gold medal.  Sometimes I feel like giving up, and with last month with the World Championship issue, I was mentally down, but I am slowly getting back into my form.

“My next aim is to gain enough points to qualify for the Olympics,” concluded the newly crowned champion.

In another all-Malaysia final, Amelia Alicia Anscelly / Soong Fie Cho claimed their gold medals from Vivian Hoo / Woon Khe Wei, 21-18, 21-13.

Indonesia then denied Malaysia of their third gold after a heated match between Chan Peng Soon / Goh Liu Ying and Praveen Jordan / Debby Susanto. Jordan / Susanto lost narrowly in the first game, 18-21, before picking up the their game in the second, 21-13.

“In the first game, we wanted to win too much and rushed our shots, which was why we made a lot of unforced errors,” recounted Debby.

“Throughout the game, we just kept reminding each other to play calmly and patiently. Especially in the critical points of the match, we have to communicate well with each other,” said Jordan.

The duo certainly executed their strategy well and they eventually took the decider after a really close fight, 25-23.

Earlier Indonesia had secured another gold medal in the all-Indonesian men’s doubles final. Ricky Karanda Suwardi / Angga Pratama outshone fellow Indonesian duo Marcus Fernaldi Gideon / Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo, 21-12, 24-22.

Busanan Ongbumrungpan contributed another gold medal to Thailand, who stood as the clear leader in the SEA Games medal tally. She beat the up-and-coming Indonesian shuttler Hanna Ramadini, 21-17, 21-12.

“I am very happy right now because in the previous SEA Games I was the runner up, so it’s great that now I can win the gold medal,” said Busanan.

Hanna was fighting valiantly in the first game and was actually leading by a margin in the second up until her 10th point.

“My coach told me to speed up my game so she could not keep up with me,” explained Busanan.

Afterwards, she seemed to lose her focus and momentum while Busanan took advantage and launched her attacks relentlessly. The Thai eventually emerged as the new SEA Games champion in women’s singles.

Gold medal match results
WD: Amelia Alicia Anscelly / Soong Fie Cho (MAS) beat Vivian Hoo / Woon Khe Wei (MAS)  21-18, 21-13
WS: Busanan Ongbamrungphan (THA) beat Hanna Ramadini (INA)  21-17, 21-12
MS: Chong Wei Feng (MAS) beat Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif (MAS)  21-8, 21-9
MD: Ricky Karanda Suwardi / Angga Pratama (INA) beat Marcus Fernaldi Gideon / Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (INA)  21-12, 24-22
XD: Praveen Jordan / Debby Susanto (INA) beat Chan Peng Soon / Goh Liu Ying (MAS)  18-21, 21-13, 25-23

Click here for complete results