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The Star Online: Sports

Defending champ Dominika rallies to advance in Kremlin Cup
Chong Wei vows to bag Danish title despite threat from youngsters
Zul aims to celebrate birthday with record point haul and podium finish

Defending champ Dominika rallies to advance in Kremlin Cup

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 05:53 PM PDT

MOSCOW: Defending champion Dominika Cibulkova advanced to the second round of the Kremlin Cup, rallying to beat Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 yesterday.

The fifth-seeded Slovakian, who won her second career title in the United States in July, struggled in the first set, losing four consecutive games. But she broke Makarova in the 10th game of the second set to stay in the match and soon jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the third set.

"The surface is very much different from the one here last year, and it's not the best surface I would say," Cibulkova said.

"Last year it was much softer and it was like a gum. But now it's very slow and very rough. It was not easy to get into the rhythm, that's why I had so many mishits in the first set."

In the second round, Cibulkova will face Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria, who beat Varvara Lepchenko of the United States 6-0, 7-6 (3).

Also, Vesna Dolonc of Serbia made it into the final 16, rallying to eliminate Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan 1-6, 6-1, 6-4.

On Monday Czech eighth seed Lucie Safarova advanced past Russia's wild card Margarita Gasparyan and into the second round of the Kremlin Cup here on Monday.

On the opening day of the joint WTA and ATP US$1.5mil tournament the left-hander beat the 18-year-old home favourite 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in two hours two minutes.

Moscow-born Gasparyan started confidently, taking a 3-1 lead with an early break but Safarova than moved up a gear to win five consecutive games for a one-set lead in 38 minutes.

The opponents traded breaks early in the second and held serve until the 10th game when Gasparyan, 227th in the world, broke again to level at one set all after one hour 27 minutes on court.

In the deciding set Safarova, a semi-finalist here last year, was in complete command, breaking her rival's serve twice before serving out the match at love.

"I met her for the first time and I didn't know whom I was playing against while she was serving very well and took the lead," Safarova said.

"But I kept on fighting and won the first set." — Agencies

Chong Wei vows to bag Danish title despite threat from youngsters

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 04:35 PM PDT

ODENSE: The youngsters are baying for his blood but world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei is not perturbed.

In fact, he believes that it will be some time before the new generation of players can make their mark.

And to hammer home his point, Chong Wei intends to bag the Denmark Open title this weekend – which will be his second Super Series title after the London Olympic Games – to show that he doesn't plan to slow down or make life any easier for the new crop of players.

Reigning Japan Open champion Chong Wei's first litmus test will come in the form of Denmark's future star – Viktor Axelsen – in the opening round today.

The others in Chong Wei's half of the draw are Chen Jin of China, Kenichi Tago of Japan and Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark. In the lower half of the draw are defending champion and second seed Chen Long of China, Indonesia's Sony Dwi Kuncoro and Simon Santoso, Denmark's aging star Peter-Gade Christensen and China's second stringers Wang Zhengming and Du Pengyu.

Chong Wei, winner of the Denmark Open in 2010, had tamed world No. 25 Axelsen twice – at the 2011 Hong Kong Open and last month's Japan Open – but the former world junior champion will be a different proposition this time as he'll have the full backing of his home fans.

Last year, Axelsen stunned former Olympic and world champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia in the Denmark Open to reach the last eight.

"Yes, some of the old stars like me do not have many more years left and this is an opportunity for the younger players to beat us ... it will make the world of badminton more exciting and will also a sign for me to retire," said Chong Wei.

"But for now, players like Peter, Taufik, Lin Dan and me are still the crowd pullers. It's the same in the men's doubles too as we can see Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng and Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen still holding the fort.

"The only one who has stepped up is Chen Long (who beat Chong Wei in the Denmark Open final last year).

"I challenge the other younsters – like Viktor, Liew Daren, Chong Wei Feng and a few others with potential in India, to rise up quickly ... otherwise, they'll miss the chance of beating us before we retire."

Malaysia's world junior champion Zulfadli Zulkifli of KLRC is also a star in the making but his progress has been hampered by injuries and certain limitations as a professional player.

Zulfadli won his first round match against Denmark's Flemming Qauch 21-17, 21-14 in the qualifying tournament yesterday. It was his first appearance in the Premier Super Series event.

Chong Wei is also looking forward to playing in the Denmark Open as it will be his long-time friend Christensen's last home tournament.

"This is his last Denmark Open ... I will miss his company in competitions as he has brought an interesting dimension to the sport. He has also done well as a prominent flag-bearer for Europe in the men's singles competition," said Chong Wei.

"He has launched a book, just like me, and I am thrilled with his venture. Hopefully, the book will be translated into English and other languages soon so that more people can read about his experiences and have an insight into his life."

Zul aims to celebrate birthday with record point haul and podium finish

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 05:56 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: Moto3 rider Zulfahmi Khairuddin can look forward to a joyful birthday bash as he is likely to surpass a century of points in the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Sepang on Sunday.

But the celebrations will not come any bigger than if he wins a first-ever career podium right in his own backyard.

With three rounds remaining, Zulfahmi, who will be 21 on qualifying day on Saturday, has amassed 92 points and an eighth placing on Sunday will be enough for him to hit the magical mark.

Zulfahmi had a challenging debut season in 125cc, learning all the curves of the MotoGP racing track around the world in 2010 and finished 24th overall with just four points.

The AirAsia SIC Ajo rider showed vast improvement in his second year to improve his position to 18th last year with a haul of 30 points but this year he has really soared with a new KTM factory bike as the GP125 class was substituted with a new 250cc-based Moto3 world championship.

"To be honest, I never thought I would be in this position before the start of the season. But now that I am, I want to work on achieving higher targets. If all goes well, I should get more than 100 points at the end of this weekend's race," said Zulfahmi, who took part in a laser tag game with the media that was organised by his sponsors AirAsia yesterday.

"Each time I start a race, the target is to finish as high as possible. A podium finish will be a bonus but it is tough based on the current competition.

"It's very, very competitive and, realistically, a top-five finish is possible. But of course, I will seize any opportunities that come my way.

"It will be a celebration for my fans too if I get on the podium in my home race. They are hoping I can do it," added Zulfahmi, who romped to fifth in the Japanese GP at Motegi last Sunday.

Zulfahmi finished seventh at last year's Malaysian GP, the best-ever finish by a local rider but his historic feat was overshadowed by the fatal crash of Italian MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli.

Zulfahmi pointed out that the grid is very competitive even though it's the first year of Moto3.

"Unlike the GP125cc last year where there were usually five riders challenging for wins at every race, there are now about 10 riders every week challenging for a win," he said.

"With such a big group at the front, you cannot choose your position ... whether to control the race from the front or keep close to the leaders and challenge for the lead at the tailend of the race.

"You need to grab any opportunity you have ... you see a gap, you take it.

"You cannot wait, sometimes, you could end up on the gravel bed. But that's Moto3 racing for you," added Zulfahmi, who has chalked up nine top 10 finishes out of 14 races so far, including a career best of fourth in Portugal in May.

Zulfahmi has shown his ability to jostle with the leading pack but there have been times when he miscalculated and slipped out of concention.

"Under current circumstances, I would prefer taking risks than adopting a safe approach and merely collecting championship points," he said.

"I am happy with the approach I am taking now and I think the team's also giving me full support on how I approach the races."

Regardless of where he finishes, his presence alone is the reason why the Sepang International Circuit is optimistic of hitting a record of 70,000 spectators on race day.

How Zulfahmi has finished so far

Qatar Grand Prix (Losail): Qualified seventh, finished sixth.

Spanish Grand Prix (Jerez): Qualified 28th, finished 10th.

Portugal Grand Prix (Estoril): Qualified fifth, finished fourth.

France Grand Prix (Le Mans): Qualified 10th, did not finish.

Catalunya Grand Prix (Catalunya): Qualified second, finished eighth.

British Grand Prix (Silverstone): Qualified 18th, finished ninth.

Dutch Grand Prix (Assen): Qualified 18th, finished 11th.

Germany Grand Prix (Sachsenring): Qualified 20th, finished sixth.

Italian Grand Prix (Mugello): Qualified seventh, finished ninth.

Indianapolis Grand Prix (Indianapolis): Qualified seventh, finished ninth.

Czech Republic Grand Prix (Brno): Qualified third, did not finish.

San Marino Grand Prix (Misano): Qualified eighth, finished 11th.

Aragon Grand Prix (Motorland): Qualified seventh, did not finish.

Japanese Grand Prix (Motegi): Qualified fourth, finished fifth.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Selasa, 16 Oktober 2012