Monday, 10 August 2009
K.M. Boopathy
FOR 32 years, World Championships success has eluded Malaysia but going by the experience and form of World No 1 Lee Chong Wei and men's doubles Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong, the wait should come to an end in Hyderabad, India, when the tournament begins today.
Lee Chong Wei will play Dieter Domke of Germany today.
Lee Chong Wei will play Dieter Domke of Germany today.
Malaysian fans have had enough of failures and excuses from the national players. This time, Chong Wei and company have no other option but to deliver.
Chong Wei carries our hopes despite the presence of Olympic gold medallist and world champion Lin Dan of China as he has been Malaysia's most consistent performer on the international circuit throughout the year.
Chong Wei said he is 85 per cent prepared for the tournament and lamented that there is heavy draught at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium.
But these factors should not stop Chong Wei, who is top seeded, from making a strong attempt at dethroning Lin Dan.
The Penangite begins his campaign against Dieter Domke of Germany today and this will be followed by another easy match against Ola Fagbemi of Nigeria in the second round.
He is expected to face some resistance from Nguyen Tien Minh of Vietnam in the third round before meeting the occasionally brilliant Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia in the quarter-final. But Sony is no longer in Chong Wei's class.
This will lead to a mouth-watering semi-final encounter between Chong Wei and Lin Dan, seen as the title clash. The China ace has a slight edge due to his domination of the major events over the last two years.
This is the match which will test Chong Wei's resolve to the limit and also an opportunity to put the supremely confidence Lin Dan in his place. Lin Dan has often claimed that though Chong Wei is the World No 1, he (Lin Dan) is the best player on the planet.
If Chong Wei upstaged Lin Dan, this will give him a clear run to the world crown as he is likely to meet second seed Chen Jin of China or Indonesian Taufik Hidayat, both of whom he has excellent track records in recent years.
For Chong Wei, it is particularly frustrating to remain as the World No 1 for almost a year but yet not winning a major event. A world crown will make up for all that.
Asian Games gold medallists Kien Keat-Boon Heong have turned out to be the country's biggest underachievers despite their immense talent They should have won the world crown two years ago in Kuala Lumpur if not for their habit of self- destruction.
Ranked World No 2, Kien Keat-Boon Heong have gone from being the most explosive pair in the game to being average performers. And this paved the way for Indonesians Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan to win the 2007 world title and the 2008 Olympics gold.
However, Markis' illness has led to the Indonesian pair pulling out of the tournament and this means Kien Keat-Boon Heong are in a favourable position to triumph in Hyderabad.
Kien Keat-Boon Heong have an easy ride to the last eight where they meet the inconsistent Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen of Denmark.
But the Malaysians will be in a make-or-break situation in the semi-finals against title contenders Jung Jae Sung-Lee Yong Dae of South Korea. Should Kien Keat-Boon Heong prevail, they have a good chance of going all the way to glory.
China's veterans Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng could be a handful but Kien Keat-Boon Heong have youth and desire on their side.
Zakry Latif-Fairuzizuan Tazari have good reasons to be optimistic since Markis-Hendra, who they are supposed to meet in the quarter-finals, are no longer around.
They are expected to play Koreans Cho Gun Woo-Yoo Yeon Seong in the last eight and Cai Yun-Haifeng in the semi-finals.
Malaysia's women's doubles World No 1 Wong Pei Tty-Chin Eei Hui have a difficult draw where they must overcome Japan's Miyuki Maeda-Satoko Suetsuna in the third round and Olympic champions Du Jing-Yu Yang of China in the quarter-finals.
They are not expected to be among the medal winners but decent performance from them will justify the BA of Malaysia's decision to send the country's largest squad to the World Championships.
Courtesy of New Straits Times
No comments:
Post a Comment