The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Nicol David retains World Series Squash Finals title
- Challenging task awaits Chong Wei in Seoul
- Kwong Beng leaves BAM and may turn pro
| Nicol David retains World Series Squash Finals title Posted: 06 Jan 2013 04:48 PM PST LONDON: Nicol David retained her World Series Squash Finals title on Sunday with a straight games defeat of England's Laura Massaro, the player she had also defeated to clinch a seventh World Open last month. The 29-year-old Malaysian star won 11-3, 11-2, 11-9 having trailed 6-8 in the third game. "It means a lot to start 2013 with a good win. Knowing she was in front of her home fans I knew I had to start strongly and not let her feed off the crowd," said Nicol after the final played at London's Queen's Club. In the men's final, Egypt's Amr Shabana came from behind to beat England's Nick Matthew 4-11, 11-2, 11-4, 11-6. "I love this tournament," said 32-year-old Shabana. - AFP |
| Challenging task awaits Chong Wei in Seoul Posted: 06 Jan 2013 05:44 PM PST KUALA LUMPUR: It will be one of the most challenging starts for world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei when the defending men's singles champion opens his campaign in the Korean Open Super Series Premier in Seoul on Wednesday. The 30-year-old will have to deal with the emerging forces from China but national coach Tey Seu Bock believes his charge is up to the task. Two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan is not competing but China will be banking on Chen Long, Du Pengyu and Wang Zhengming to spoil the party for Chong Wei. Based on past encounters, all three are capable of giving Chong Wei a run for his money. China have also fielded former world champion Chen Jin in the season opener but he is not seen as a major threat. "It will not be easy. Chong Wei will be 31 this year (in October) while the younger players from China are performing better in every tournament. They will be out to push Chong Wei to the limit," said Seu Bock. "But Chong Wei is an extremely determined person and we are banking on his experience to pull through. Everyone is hoping for a good start to the year. Hopefully, Chong Wei will show that he is ready for a roaring start to the season" Chong Wei, who is playing in his first tournament since injuring his thigh during last month's Super Series Masters Finals in Shenzhen, will face Zhengming in the opening round. If all goes according to plan, he may meet Chen Jin in the semi-finals. Chen Long and Du Pengyu are in the lower half of the draw with Malaysian Liew Daren and one of these Chinese players should make it to the final. The other Malaysian representative is former world junior champion Zulfadli Zulkifli, who opens his campaign in the qualifying tournament tomorrow. The Korean Open is the first of the six tournaments lined up for Chong Wei before the major one – the World Championships in Guangzhou in August. The others are the Opens in Malaysia, England, India, Indonesia and Japan. "This is the start of my third year coaching Chong Wei. In 2011, Chong Wei did not become a world champion. Last year, he was denied the glory of becoming an Olympic champion. "On both occasions, he lost narrowly to Lin Dan in the final. I hope to see Chong Wei make it this year as the world meet is his main target," said Seu Bock. |
| Kwong Beng leaves BAM and may turn pro Posted: 06 Jan 2013 05:46 PM PST KUALA LUMPUR: National men's singles player Chan Kwong Beng has quit the national badminton team at the age of 24. Following his failure to produce any significant results, Kwong Beng said it was time to call an end to his 11-year career. With his exit, only two shuttlers – Liew Daren and Chong Wei Feng – from his batch are left to carry the torch if world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei retires. Kwong Beng said he made the decision after a long deliberation. "I leave knowing that I've given my best in all those years. It is unbelievable that 11 years have gone by. I began my career as a junior at the BAM Academy. For the last few years, I worked doubly hard to make a major breakthrough. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy any outstanding results," said Kwong Beng. When Kwong Beng began his career, he was touted as one of the brightest local stars. He was outstanding in training and was one of the favoured sparring partners of Chong Wei. When Chong Wei was preparing for last year's Olympic Games, Kwong Beng was handpicked to train with him in London. Kwong Beng's biggest drawback was that he was his own worst enemy. He failed to translate his training form when competing and hardly had any outstanding international results to show. Except for a semi-final finish at the Malaysia International Challenge last month, Kwong Beng was an early round casualty in the international front last year. "I am grateful to the BAM for keeping me under their wings and giving me so many opportunities over the last 11 years. Chong Wei has been a good mentor to me and I will not forget all his pep talks and encouragements. It is just unfortunate that I did not take my chances well," said Kwong Beng Kwong Beng, however, hopes that his peers – Daren and Wei Feng – will be more successful than him. Daren won his first Super Series title last year at the French Open while Wei Feng reached his first Super Series semi-finals at the China Open. "Our batch has been under tremendous pressure as we are constantly compared with Chong Wei. I am glad that Daren and Wei Feng have shown some improvements and I wish them plenty of success this year." On his future plan, Kwong Beng said that he would turn professional. "I am still very much into badminton. I will give it a shot as a professional player and see whether my fortunes will change for the better. Firstly though, I must find a sponsor," added Kwong Beng. |
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