The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Daren breaks into world top 20 after French Open win
- Underdog Yee Han marches into last eight
- Kien Keat and Peng Soon looking forward to new line technology
| Daren breaks into world top 20 after French Open win Posted: 01 Nov 2012 05:45 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: National singles shuttler Daren Liew has jumped six rungs to break into the top 20 of the world rankings. The 25-year-old Daren is now ranked 18th in the world, thanks to his French Open win on Sunday. This is quite an achievement for someone struggling to make a name for himself at the start of this year. But Daren has been quite consistent since making the quarter-finals of the All-England in March. And he can further improve on his ranking when he competes in the China Open (Nov 13-18) in Shanghai and Hong Kong Open (Nov 20-25) in Kowloon. Lee Chong Wei continues his reign as world No. 1. In the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) world rankings released yesterday, the other Malaysians who managed to stay in the top 50 are Chong Wei Feng at 26th, Apacs-sponsored Tan Chun Seang (33rd), KLRC's Mohd Hafiz Hashim (40th) and Mohd Arif Abdul Latif (44th). There was also good news for men's doubles pair Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong and mixed doubles pair Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying when they moved up one spot to be ranked fourth in the world respectively. Kien Keat-Boon Heong reached the final of the Japan Open and Denmark Open in the last two months. As for Peng Soon-Liu Ying, the fourth spot is the best achievement in their five years together. The women's department, however, is another story all together. The best women's singles player is Tee Jing Yi, who is ranked 51st while the top women's pair of Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei are in 26th spot. |
| Underdog Yee Han marches into last eight Posted: 01 Nov 2012 05:45 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: National shuttler Chong Yee Han is supposedly the weakest link in the boys' singles team but it was he who stood tall yesterday – marching into the quarter-finals of the World Junior Championships in Chiba, Japan. The 18-year-old stunned joint fifth-eighth seed Ng Ka Long of Hong Kong 21-15, 21-18 to set up a meeting with another seeded player, South Korea's Heo Kwang-hee. Malaysia's Soo Teck Zhi lived up to his billing, albeit the hard way, when he made it to the last eight with a 21-13, 19-21, 21-15 win over Dani Harsheel of India. The 17-year-old Teck Zhi has a mammoth task ahead of him as he will be up against reigning Asian Junior champion and second seed Kento Momota of Japan today. National junior programme manager Hau Kim Tho said that Yee Han, who joined their academy three years ago, clearly relished the underdog tag. "We had four singles representatives in the world junior meet and Yee Han is ranked fourth. While the spotlight was on others, he has quietly sneaked into the last eight. He is a fighter and has shown that quality in this tournament," said Kim Tho. "Our juniors have been unpredictable so far but I hope Yee Han and Teck Zhi will go far." Earlier, the two more established youngsters – Soong Joo Ven and Tan Kian Meng – had crashed out in the second and third rounds respectively. The loss of top junior Joo Ven came as a big surprise as he was expected to reach at least the quarter-finals. Malaysia suffered a huge meltdown in the boys' doubles when all three pairs – Tai An Khang-Tan Wee Gieen, Darren Isaac Devadass-Ong Yew Sin and Dede Ryan Philip-Marcel Simon – failed to make the quarter-finals. Malaysia have always been successful in the boys' doubles. In fact, Nelson Heg Wei Keat-Teo Ee Yi did the country proud by winning the title last year. There was, however, some consolation for Malaysia when the top girls' pair of Chow Mei Kuan-Lee Meng Yean stormed into the quarter-finals after beating lower-ranked pairs yesterday. Their real test will come when they face Indonesians Melati Daeva Oktaviani-Rosyita Eka Putri Sari, the joint 5th-8th seeds, today. |
| Kien Keat and Peng Soon looking forward to new line technology Posted: 01 Nov 2012 04:14 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: National doubles shuttlers Koo Kien Keat and Chan Peng Soon are looking forward to a new technology to challenge line calls after being victims of "biased" judging. The World Badminton Federation (BWF) events committee, headed by Paisan Rangsikitpho, have proposed the introduction of new technology – similar to the Hawk-Eye in tennis – to curb poor line calls. A decision will be made at the world body's council meeting next month. If approved, a player will be given a limited number of challenges and the umpire will decide after viewing instant replays on the screen. Kien Keat and Peng Soon, who are training for the China Open in Shanghai from Nov 13-18, said it was high time that such a technology is used. Kien Keat will partner Tan Boon Heong in the men's doubles while Peng Soon will be on double duty – combining with Goh Liu Ying in the mixed doubles and with Lim Khim Wah in the men's doubles. Kien Keat, who still remembers the questionable line calls and poor umpiring at this year's All-England, said the introduction of the new technology would enable the match to be fairly judged. "This is the fastest racquet sport and, sometimes, the shuttle travels so fast that it could deceive the eyes. So naturally, the new technology will help us judge the line calls accurately. I am all for it," said Kien Keat. "Our sport has evolved and come a long way. I hope that with this new technology, human errors can be minimised." Peng Soon is happy that the BWF are finally looking into ways to arrest the problem of poor line calls. "I was so upset during the German Open this year. The shuttle clearly landed out but was called in. I made a big fuss and was shown a yellow card. Things like this can disrupt a player's concentration," said Peng Soon. In the German Open, Peng Soon-Liu Ying lost to Indonesians Mohd Rijal-Debby Susanto 21-19, 18-21, 18-21 in the opening round. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online: Sports To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan