ants
05-30-2005, 07:38 PM
TheStar
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will have two women's doubles pairs in the World Badminton Championships for the first time and coach Cheah Soon Kit hopes they will not be contented with having made the grade.
The two pairs who have qualified for the championships, which will be held in Anaheim, California, from Aug 15-21, are Wong Pei Tty-Chin Eei Hui and Mooi Hing Yau-Ooi Sock Ai.
The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) coaching and training committee will meet today to decide on their entries for the world meet and both the pairs should get the nod.
Mooi Hing Yau (left) and Ooi Sock Ai will be heading to California for the World Badminton Championships from Aug 15-21.
And Soon Kit has high hopes for Pei Tty-Eei Hui, who will be making their second consecutive appearance after the 2003 championships in Birmingham.
He is looking at the top pair to reach at least the quarter-finals.
“I am happy to see the second pair making the cut too for the world championships and I hope that they will make the best of their outing,” said Soon Kit.
“Pei Tty-Eei Hui are now ranked seventh and I want them to justify their position. They have to finish among the top eight this time.
“It will be difficult for Hing Yau-Sock Ai (ranked 23rd) to make headway against the world's best. I just want them to fight hard.”
To get Pei Tty-Eei Hui to rise to the challenges, Soon Kit said that physical fitness would be crucial.
“They will have to last the pace to go far in a world championships. If they are fitter, they will be more confident when playing against the top pairs,” he said.
“Pei Tty-Eei Hui have the strokes and in these three months, they will work on improving their fitness.”
In the last championships, Pei Tty-Eei Hui were eliminated in the second round. But they have gained maturity and have the ability to handle pressure.
“They are now in the top eight of the world rankings and will avoid meeting the Chinese pairs until the quarter-finals. Anything beyond will be a bonus,” said Soon Kit.
The motivation now is for Pei Tty-Eei Hui to strive to keep their position when they compete in Singapore Open (June 28-July 3) and the Malaysia Open (July 5-10).
Among their notable career achievements are beating world number two Wei Yili-Zhao Tingting of China to reach the quarter-finals of the Singapore Open last year and making the semi-finals of the Taiwan Open last month.
Pei Tty-Eei Hui narrowly conceded defeat to the Chinese pair in the quarter-finals of the All-England in March.
They were also the first Malaysian pair to qualify for the Olympics in Athens last August.
They lost in the last 16 to eventual champions Gao Ling-Huang Sui of China.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will have two women's doubles pairs in the World Badminton Championships for the first time and coach Cheah Soon Kit hopes they will not be contented with having made the grade.
The two pairs who have qualified for the championships, which will be held in Anaheim, California, from Aug 15-21, are Wong Pei Tty-Chin Eei Hui and Mooi Hing Yau-Ooi Sock Ai.
The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) coaching and training committee will meet today to decide on their entries for the world meet and both the pairs should get the nod.
Mooi Hing Yau (left) and Ooi Sock Ai will be heading to California for the World Badminton Championships from Aug 15-21.
And Soon Kit has high hopes for Pei Tty-Eei Hui, who will be making their second consecutive appearance after the 2003 championships in Birmingham.
He is looking at the top pair to reach at least the quarter-finals.
“I am happy to see the second pair making the cut too for the world championships and I hope that they will make the best of their outing,” said Soon Kit.
“Pei Tty-Eei Hui are now ranked seventh and I want them to justify their position. They have to finish among the top eight this time.
“It will be difficult for Hing Yau-Sock Ai (ranked 23rd) to make headway against the world's best. I just want them to fight hard.”
To get Pei Tty-Eei Hui to rise to the challenges, Soon Kit said that physical fitness would be crucial.
“They will have to last the pace to go far in a world championships. If they are fitter, they will be more confident when playing against the top pairs,” he said.
“Pei Tty-Eei Hui have the strokes and in these three months, they will work on improving their fitness.”
In the last championships, Pei Tty-Eei Hui were eliminated in the second round. But they have gained maturity and have the ability to handle pressure.
“They are now in the top eight of the world rankings and will avoid meeting the Chinese pairs until the quarter-finals. Anything beyond will be a bonus,” said Soon Kit.
The motivation now is for Pei Tty-Eei Hui to strive to keep their position when they compete in Singapore Open (June 28-July 3) and the Malaysia Open (July 5-10).
Among their notable career achievements are beating world number two Wei Yili-Zhao Tingting of China to reach the quarter-finals of the Singapore Open last year and making the semi-finals of the Taiwan Open last month.
Pei Tty-Eei Hui narrowly conceded defeat to the Chinese pair in the quarter-finals of the All-England in March.
They were also the first Malaysian pair to qualify for the Olympics in Athens last August.
They lost in the last 16 to eventual champions Gao Ling-Huang Sui of China.