Australian Open: Fortune Favours the Brave
Two weeks ago, Lai Pei Jing was left devastated after losing “nearly all her life savings” to online scammers.
· PREM KUMAR
Following a few days of reflection, Lai chose to put on a brave front and continue competing on the HSBC BWF World Tour. Her resilience bore immediate fruit, seemingly almost divinely, as she and Tan Kian Meng reached their first Super 1000 semifinal since last year’s China Open.
And at SATHIO GROUP Australian Open 2024, where she entered women’s doubles “for fun” after a nine-year hiatus from the discipline, Lai “unexpectedly” qualified for the final partnering Lim Chiew Sien. Incredibly, it’s a first for Malaysia in the discipline on the World Tour this season.
“It’s indescribable what I’m feeling right now, it’s incredible,” said Lai, whose feat was made even more impressive by the 21-13 18-21 21-14 conquering of Yeung Nga Ting/Yeung Pui Lam, the Hong Kong China shuttlers who would be competing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games next month.