Singapore's Lynelle Lim falls to Malaysia's Jo-Leen Saw in the Women's Singles Round of 16, misses out on a spot in the quarter finals
Lynelle Lim, Singapore's sole Tennis representative at the 31st SEA Games in Hanoi, in action against Jo-Leen Saw of Malaysia in the morning's Women's Singles match. PHOTO: SPORTPLUS.SG
Hanoi, Vietnam, 17 May 2022 - Singapore's sole Tennis representative at the 31st SEA Games has been knocked out in the Women's Singles Round of 16 earlier today in a causeway derby match which matched up Singapore against Malaysia.
Lynelle Lim, 20, went up against Malaysia's rising star, Jo-Leen Saw, 14.
15 year old Jo-Leen Saw made her SEA Games debut in the team event last Friday. PHOTO: SPORTPLUS.SG
Despite her tender years and making her SEA Games debut, Saw is already Malaysia's top seeded tennis athlete and won two ITF J5 and one J4 doubles titles last year, and bagged her maiden singles title on clay at a J5 tournament in Colombo, Sri Lanka in February this year.
Saw defeated Lim 2-0 (6-3, 6-2) to book a spot in the quarter finals where she will take on tournament favourite Alexandra Eala of the Philippines.
Lynelle Lim of Singapore returning a serve in her match against Malaysia's Jo-Leen Saw. PHOTO: SPORTPLUS.SG
Prior to the games, Lim had been based in the United States where she was training under a full-time scholarship at James Madison University (JMU).
This was her second appearance at the games, with the first being the 2019 edition where she had narrowly missed out on a podium finish with her Women's Doubles pair, Charmaine Seah.
Thailand's Luksika KumKhum returns a backhand in the match against Savanna Ly Nguyen of Vietnam. PHOTO: SPORTPLUS.SG
The win was a welcome one for Saw, who had lost out earlier this week in the women's doubles event where she and her teammate Elysia Wan suffered defeats against Marian Capadocia and Alex Eala to bow out 0-2 against bronze medalists Team Philippines.
Meanwhile in other Women's Round of 16 action, Thai star Luksika KumKhum trounced Vietnamese home favourite Savanna Ly Nguyen at centre court 6-1, 6-1 to book her place in the Women’s Singles quarter finals.
Savanna Ly Nguyen of Vietnam in action against Thailand's Luksika KumKhum of Thailand at centre court in the Women's Singles. PHOTO: SPORTPLUS.SG
Men’s Doubles
In the Men’s Doubles, Malaysian tennis star Koay Hao Sheng got the first action of the day started at Court 4 of the Hanaka Paris Ocean Park, as he teamed up with compatriot Syed Mohd Aqil to defeat Laos pair Vitaya Rasavady and Sataporn Simmalavong 6-3, 6-3.
Filipino duo Jeson Patrombon and Francis Casey Alcantara also booked themselves a place in the quarters with a comfortable 2-0 win over Cambodian pair Matthew David Krusling and Samneang Long.
Koay Hao Sheng of Malaysia teamed up with Syed Mohd Aqil to win the men's doubles match against Laos 6-3, 6-3. PHOTO: SPORTPLUS.SG
Mixed Doubles
The action did not stop there, as Marian Capadocia continued on her rich vein of form to help the Filipinas navigate a tricky fixture against Malaysia in the Mixed Doubles. Teaming up with Francis Casey Alcantara, Capadocia played a pivotal role scoring crucial points including the eventual match winner to keep her hopes of another SEA Games tennis medal alive.
Malaysia starlet Elysia Wan did not enjoy a change in fortune from the team events however, as together with Imran Daniel she was eliminated from the competition after a keenly fought contest of three matches with Achad Imam Maruf and Jessy Priskila Rompies of Indonesia that saw Malaysia bow out 1-2 (7-5, 6-7, 7-10).
Watch the highlights from the Women's Round of 16 match between Lynelle Lim (SGP) and Saw Jo-Leen (MAS) here on Studio Plus.