The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Chong Wei may compete in US$1mil Axiata Cup after all
- Chong Wei hopes compatriots will rise to the occasion
- Chan-Goh aim to strike better understanding on court
| Chong Wei may compete in US$1mil Axiata Cup after all Posted: 05 Mar 2013 07:06 PM PST KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei may take time off his hectic schedule and compete in the US$1mil Axiata Cup, which will be held from March 21-April 14. Chong Wei had earlier stated that he would not compete in the Axiata Cup, the richest team tournament in the world, to avoid unnecessary injuries. But Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) general manager Kenny Goh said that with this being the Surdiman Cup year (May 19-26), they will take the Axiata Cup seriously. "It's clear that the main target for our shuttlers this year is the Surdiman Cup and the World Championships. But that doesn't mean we don't want to do well in the Axiata Cup ... we have pride too, as hosts," said Kenny. "Chong Wei will definitely skip the first leg in Surabaya, from March 21-24, but he could still play in the return leg (March 29-31) onwards." The semi-final and final will also be held in Kuala Lumpur on April 13-14. "Although Chong Wei's name is not in the team list, I believe we're allowed to ring in some changes in the home leg and we'll also bring in the younger men's pairs to replace Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong." Malaysia have named Liew Daren, Chong Wei Feng, Kien Keat-Boon Heong, Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying, Lim Yin Loo and Tee Jing Yi in the Axiata Cup squad. The second year of the Cup is also set to see some major changes in the format, with the main one being the inclusion of women's singles and mixed doubles. This means that there will be four matches in each tie, compared to just three last year. Other changes in the format will also see teams awarded a point for each match won in a tie. This means if Team A beat Team B 3-1, Team A will receive three points while Team B will get one point. As such, it is possible to have a draw too. The winning team will earn a cool US$400,000 while the runners-up and third-placed teams will take home US$200,000 and US$150,000 respectively. There are eight teams this year – Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Asia All Stars (non South-East Asian players) and Europe All Stars. Meanwhile. world No. 8 Simon Santoso, part of last year's victorious Indonesia Garuda team, believes that this year's competition will be a lot tougher. "We want to win and take home the money again, but the competition will be tighter this time and teams like Malaysia and Thailand will really give us a tough challenge," said Simon. |
| Chong Wei hopes compatriots will rise to the occasion Posted: 05 Mar 2013 03:29 PM PST ON paper, world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei (pic) is set to be Malaysia's sole flag bearer after the first round of the men's singles action in the All-England, which begins in Birmingham today. But just don't tell Liew Daren and Chong Wei Feng, who have vowed to defy the odds and record their best-ever performances in the oldest tournament in the circuit. "I don't want Chong Wei to be left alone. I am bent on clearing my first round," said a confident Daren after a practice session at the National Indoor Stadium yesterday. Daren faces former world champion Chen Jin of China in the first round and it could all go wrong for the Malaysian. "I'm the underdog and have never beaten him ... but there's always a first time. I want to do better than my quarter-final finish last year. Who knows, it could be a Daren-Chong Wei final!" said Daren, the 2012 French Open winner. "I still remember making it to the quarter-finals last year before losing to veteran Lee Hyun-il of South Korea. I lost because I lacked experience. Now, I am more mature in the game." Daren and Chen Jin are in the lower half of the draw with second seed and reigning German Open champion Chen Long of China. The others in their half are Wei Feng, Jan O Jorgensen and Viktor Axelsen of Denmark, Kenichi Tago of Japan and Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia. Wei Feng will take on Jorgensen, who can play exceptionally well on a good day, in the opener and is determined to get past the early rounds in his fourth All-England outing. "I've been playing since in 2009 ... this time, I've set my mind on entering the quarter-finals at least. I'm physically in better shape and confident I can last longer on the court," he said. Three other aspiring Malaysian singles players – Mohd Arif Abdul Latif, Tan Chun Seang and Zulfadli Zulkifli – will start from the qualifying tournaments and it'll be tough for them to make the main draw. While the second stringers are hoping for personal breakthroughs, Chong Wei – the King of the Super Series – is eyeing his third All-England title. He won the All-England title in 2010 and 2011 but withdrew from last year's final against Lin Dan of China with a shoulder injury. This year, Chong Wei is ready to make amends. Top seed Chong Wei takes on Wong Wing Ki of Hong Kong in the first round but the more dangerous players in his half are China's Wang Zhengming, Du Pengyu and Gao Hua; Indonesia's Taufik Hidayat; Hu Yun of Hong Kong and Sho Sasaki of Japan. Although Chong Wei will be happy to win it for the third time, he'll be more delighted if the second echelon of players can rise to the occasion. "Daren, Wei Feng and Arif have improved. Hopefully, they'll get to show the world that Malaysia has more talents by doing well here," said Chong Wei, who won the first two legs of the Super Series in South Korea and Malaysia in January. For the record, Malaysia's most successful outing ever in the All-England was in 1966, when the nation won both the singles and doubles titles through Tan Aik Huang (singles) and Tan Yee Khan-Ng Boon Bee (doubles). |
| Chan-Goh aim to strike better understanding on court Posted: 05 Mar 2013 02:20 PM PST MIXED doubles shuttler Chan Peng Soon is struggling with a massive confidence issue. But he plans to deal with it at the All-England, starting today. He wants to rediscover the form and inner-belief that saw him, and partner Goh Liu Ying, reaching the semi-finals of the last year's All-England at the same venue. Just a week ago in the German Open, their morale took a huge beating when they failed to live up to their top billing by crashing out to China's Zhang Nan-Tang Jinhua in the first round. "The defeat in Germany was a huge wake-up call for us. We made so many mistakes that our confidence was crushed," said Peng Soon, who added that he was still struggling to come to terms with Liu Ying's knee problems although the latter was slowly improving. "With her condition not at the optimum level yet, I feel that I have to double up on my responsibilities and cover for her. So, this causes a lot of misunderstanding on the court. "I've given up my men's doubles career to focus solely on the mixed doubles ... as such, my expectations are higher in this event. I get frustrated easily when we do not get it right. "But I must learn to give Liu Ying the space to do her thing. She is trying her best and I promise that we'll be out to strike a better understanding on court here." World No. 3 Peng Soon-Liu Ying certainly need to get their act right as they have a challenging path to the quarter-finals. They take on Patiphat Chalardchaleam-Savitree Amitrapai of Thailand in the first round, followed by a tricky tie against Indonesians Fran Kurniawan-Shendy Puspa Irawati. If everything goes according to form, they'll face fifth seeds Zhang Nan-Zhao Yunlei of China in the last eight. Should they somehow beat them for the first time, they come up against top seeds Xu Chen-Ma Jin of China in the semi-finals. "We need a breakthrough here. It's so hard to plot the downfall of the Chinese pairs. They are steady and their defence is solid. Hopefully, we'll find a way to break the Chinese wall," he said. "But first, we want to get it right in the early rounds and not take anyone for granted." |
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