BMBC aims to bounce back next season in SSPL

CYBERJAYA (12 JANUARY 2019): Winless, Bandar Maharani Badminton Club (BMBC) aims to bounceback in next season’s SS Purple League after finishing their campaign with a 6-12 loss to Petaling Badminton Club (Petaling BC) on the penultimate day of Stage 2 at Gem In Mall, Cyberjaya tonight.This defeat, capped a miserable campaign for the debutants who endured nine consecutive losses to finish last in the eight team league from Stage 1 till Stage 2.

“I learnt a lot from taking charge of a team in the Purple League compared to the Purple League Junior. The standard is vastly different between the two,” said BMBC coach, Yap Kim Heng.

“I didn’t have much time to prepare the team due to taking up the job in such short notice. I couldn’t pick the senior players as most of the teams have had their pick, thus I had to rely on the juniors.

“I had promoted Lee Chong King and Yap Roy King from the Purple League Junior. It is a good exposure for them, playing against established players,” he added.

Petaling BC, who are now in third, meanwhile continued their trek to Genting and are now odds on favourite to confirm their qualification tomorrow with a win against Serdang Badminton Club (SBC).

Chong Yee Han gave the perfect start for Petaling BC when he easily overcame Ooi Jhy Dar, 3-0 (11-8, 11-8, 11-4) in the men’s singles.

Lim Fun Yin was next up in the women’s singles and she didn’t disappoint, achieving a 3-0 (11-7, 11-3, 11-9) over Yap Yee for a 6-0 lead.

BMBC’s men’s doubles pair, Mohd Razlan Shah Mohd Ridzuan Shah-Yap Roy King almost had Man Wei Chong-Shia Chun Kang on the ropes, but couldn’t find the knockout blow and succumbed, 2-3 (11-7, 11-10, 3-11, 3-11, 3-11) for Petaling BC to lead 9-2.

BMBC got their consolation win through mixed doubles pair, Wong Tien Ci-Yap Rui Chen who were awarded a 3-0 win after Malaysian-Australian pair, Chen Tang Jie-Gronya Somerville conceded a walkover to close the gap to 5-9.

Normal service was resumed for Petaling BC when final men’s singles, Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin completed the rout, 12-6 with a 3-1 (11-8, 11-10, 9-11, 11-7) win over Lim Chong King.

Meanwhile, debutants, TCBC in Group B are through to the final rounds after another barnstorming display, this time against Bukit Mertajam All Stars Badminton Club (BMASBC) to record a clean sweep, winning all five of their matches, 15-4.

Satheishtharan Ramachandran (men’s singles), Rusydina Antardayu (women’s singles), Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong (men’s doubles), Soong Fie Cho-Tan Jinn Hwa (mixed doubles), Yeoh Seng Zoe (men’s singles) finished off the job in style to ensure the newcomers qualification to Genting in style.

The SS Purple League 2019 features local and international players including Olympic medallists, world champions, former big names and rising stars on the international stage.

Players from the eight teams will compete in three stages in a single round robin format and play-off format for the coveted SS Purple League trophy. Total prize money for this season is RM1,500,000.

The SS Purple League 2019 will run from December 2018 to January 2019 beginning with Stage 1 on 21-24 Dec, 26-30 Dec and 2-6 Jan 2019 to be held at Gem in Mall, Cyberjaya. Stage 2 will be played on 11-13 Jan 2019, also at Gem in Mall, Cyberjaya. The final round will be held on 24-27 Jan 2019 at the Arena of Stars, Resorts World Genting.

Tickets can be purchased at the venue and through the official website https://www.purpleleague.com/ at RM15 for adults and RM9 for children below 12 years. Season passes for matches in KL only are priced at RM199.

SSPL Stage 2 Results Today

Group B
(4.00pm)- Bukit Mertajam All Stars BC 4-15 Tebrau City BC
MS2 Riyanto SUBAGJA lost Satheishtharan RAMACHANDRAN 1-3 (11-7 9-11 5-11 8-11)
WS Jing Ning LIM lost Rusydina ANTARDAYU 0-3 (7-11 10-11 5-11)
MD Fong Hau SIM- Roobenraj VELAYUTHAM lost Hang Yee LOW- Eng Cheong NG 2-3 (9-11 7-11 11-9 11-10 6-11)
XD Tiara Rosalia NURAIDAH- Agrippina Primarahmanto PUTERA lost Fie Cho SOONG- Jinn Hwa TAN 1-3 (11-7 8-11 8-11 10-11)
MS1 Lucas CORVEE lost Seng Zoe YEOH (0-3) 8-11 4-11 8-11

Group A
(8.00pm)- Petaling BC vs Bandar Maharani BC
MS2 Yee Han CHONG vs Jhy Dar OOI
WS Yin Fun LIM vs Yee YAP
MD Wei Chong MAN- Chun Kang SHIA vs Mohd Razlan Shah- Roy King YAP
XD Tang Jie CHEN- Gronya SOMERVILLE vs Tien Ci WONG- Rui Chen YAP
MS1 Iskandar Zulkarnain ZAINUDDIN vs Chong King LIM

Stage 2 SSPL 2018/19 Fixtures

13 January 2019 (Sunday)
4:00 PM Kepong BC vs Bukit Mertajam All Stars BC (Group B)
8:00 PM Petaling BC vs Serdang BC (Group A)

About Malaysia Purple League

Founded in 2013, Malaysia Purple League is a competition platform in support of the Malaysian badminton effort by helping to develop and polish the skills of Malaysian badminton players to raise the level of competitive badminton in Malaysia. The league is an initiative that provides players of all levels, both professionals and amateurs, with an opportunity to gain invaluable competition experience, and concurrently strives to engage retired national greats to guide and inspire a new generation of champions. For more information, visit Malaysia Purple League website at http://www.purpleleague.com/