The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Shooter Hasli disqualified for flouting rule in Munich
- Tough opener for Lee Chong Wei
- Injury-plagued Zulfadli ousts Joo Ven in Alor Setar
| Shooter Hasli disqualified for flouting rule in Munich Posted: 28 May 2013 05:01 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: It was heartbreak for Hasli Izwan Amir Hasan as he was disqualified from the men's 25m rapid fire pistol event at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Munich, Germany, on Monday. The 2005 Manila SEA Games gold medallist, who was once ranked 35th in the world, had been looking forward to the tournament in his bid to earn points to haul himself back into the world rankings after taking a year-long sabbatical. However in a cruel twist of fate, the 36-year-old fell foul to the ISSF Rule 8.4.4.2 Ammunition Test. The rule states each shooter must begin each stage of competition with one full box of 50 cartridges on the bench or table (five sighting shots, 30 match shots, 10 cartridges for possible ammunition testing and five cartridges for a possible malfunction re-fire series) and failure to do so will result in a disqualification. It was a dismal outing for Malaysia as none of the shooters failed to impress. Khalel Abdullah could only manage to finish 40th with 564 points in the 25m rapid fire pistol. For Jonathan Wong and Nur Ayuni Farhana Abdul Halim, they failed to make it past the qualification rounds in their respective events yesterday. Jonathan, who was placed 60th in the men's 50m pistol with a score of 534 on Sunday, had to settle for 85th spot in the 10m air pistol with a score of 570. As for Nur Ayuni, she scored 567 points to finish 45th in the women's 50m rifle three-position. Four Malaysians will take to the Olympic Shooting Range today. Mohd Hadafi Jaffar and Mohd Nurrahimin Abdul Halim will compete in the men's 50m rifle three-position while Joseline Cheah and Bibiana Ng will take part in the women's 10m pistol. |
| Tough opener for Lee Chong Wei Posted: 28 May 2013 05:07 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei has been handed the toughest possible opening match in the Indonesian Open Super Series Premier in Jakarta from June 10-16. Chong Wei, a four-time winner of the tournament, will face world No. 9 Wang Zhengming of China in the men's singles first round. Although the two-time Olympic silver medallist has a 7-0 record against Zhengming, the Chinese youngster has picked up his game recently and will be a very tricky opponent. If the 30-year-old Chong Wei manages to clear the hurdle, he will be up against old foe Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia, who is competing in his swansong tournament. Barring any upset, Chong Wei should face a resurgent Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand in the quarter-finals with the winner probably taking on world No. 3 Du Pengyu of China in the last four. Pengyu, who is one of the most improved players over the past year, has already beaten Chong Wei once, in the Super Series Finals last December. World No. 2 Chen Long will play Indonesia's Tommy Sugiarto in the first round. He should have no problems advancing to the final. If Chong Wei has it tough, the much-maligned men's pair of Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong will have it even tougher as they have multiple Indonesian and South Korean hurdles standing in their path. The pair, who came under heavy fire for their dismal performances in the recent Sudirman Cup, will face local pair Yonathan Suryatam Dasuki-Hendra Gunawan in the first round. If Kien Keat-Boon Heong, seeded third, managed to go through, they will probably take on Markis Kido-Alvent Yulianto next while eighth seeds Shin Baek-cheol-Yoo Yeon-seong of South Korea await in the last eight. Second seeds Ko Sung-hyun-Lee Yong-dae are also in Kien Keat-Boon Heong's half of the draw. The Koreans are the Malaysians' opponents in the semi-finals – provided Kien Keat-Boon Heong get that far. But with the pair temporarily split up – Kien Keat is in Alor Setar for the Kedah Open while Boon Heong is in Japan to fulfil his obligations with sponsors Yonex – that task seems highly unlikely. Second ranked Malaysian pair Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong are also in the fray and will be desperate for a good showing to justify their world No. 7 rankings. The pair, who were overlooked in favour of the younger Goh V Shem-Lim Khim Wah when Malaysia faced Germany in the Sudirman Cup, will take on a qualifier in the first round. They will, however, come up against reigning Olympic champions Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng in the second round and will need to be at their best in order to proceed. The other Malaysian pairs in the fray are Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari and Gan Teik Chai-Ong Soon Hock. There will be no Malaysian representatives in the mixed doubles as the misfiring Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying are given a break. |
| Injury-plagued Zulfadli ousts Joo Ven in Alor Setar Posted: 28 May 2013 05:08 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: Former world junior champion Zulfadli Zulkiffli (pic) got off to a smashing start in the Kedah Open badminton championships in Alor Setar yesterday. The 19-year-old Zulfadli, who is bidding for his first senior title, was too strong for Soong Joo Ven, the reigning Asian Junior finalist, as he won 21-7, 21-19 in the men's singles second round. World No. 64 Zulfadli, who received a first round bye, is targeting a good run in the local circuit to give his career a kick-start. "I've been plagued by injuries this year but I'm slowly getting regaining my fitness," said Zulfadli, who suffered a hip injury during the Australian Open last month. "The Malaysian Open GP Gold at the start of the month was my first tournament back from injury. I'm slowly getting used to the feel of the courts once again. I hope to do well in the Kedah Open to give my career a boost after all the setbacks. "So far the best result I've had since moving up the senior ranks was making the semi-finals of the National GP Finals last year. I want to do better than that," he added. Zulfadli, who trains under his father, was full of praise for Joo Ven, who is the top national junior. "He has good potential like me but he was a little afraid to make his shots so I had a rather easy first game. "I started playing a variety of strokes in the second game and that allowed him to get back into the game. "Still, I feel he needs to attack in order to strike some fear into his opponents every now and then," said Zulfadli. The Kuala Lumpur lad will next face Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayup for a place in the quarter-finals. Second seed Chong Wei Feng and fourth seed Tan Chun Seang also reached the third round. Playing at home, Wei Feng sent Sabah's Chong Kien Hiung packing with a 21-18, 21-11 win. |
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