ants
09-18-2006, 07:01 PM
TheStar Sept 19th
NATIONAL number three Kuan Beng Hong ended a run of three consecutive first-round exits with a winning debut at the World Championships at the Palacio de Deportes in Madrid yesterday.
Beng Hong, who was included in the tournament because veteran Wong Choong Hann has yet to recover fully from injury, defeated Australian Stuart Gomez 21-14, 21-12.
“After falling at the first hurdle in the Taiwan, Thailand and Korean Open in the last two months, it's a good feeling to win a match again,” he said.
“It is a very important win to boost my confidence and I hope I can improve on my performance from here.”
Beng Hong had suffered a lack of confidence and his performance deteriorated following his defeat in the decisive match of the Thomas Cup semi-final tie by Joachim Persson in Tokyo in May.
He will take on ninth-16th seed Przemyslaw Wacha of Poland in the second round tomorrow.
Persson created the biggest shock on the opening day of the championships when he sent South Korea's Shon Seung-mo packing in straight games.
Although Persson is ranked higher than Seung-mo at number 17 against number 30, the more experienced Korean, who won the silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, was the better bet to win the match. But the Dane won the match 22-20, 21-13.
Persson's valuable victory means that he is on course to take on top seeded Malaysian Lee Chong Wei in the third round. He is expected to get past either Slovakia's Luka Petric or Peru's Rodrigo Pacheco in the second round tomorrow.
China's Bao Chunlai got off to a fine start with a 21-15, 21-12 win over Russian Stanislav Pukhov. The Korean Open champion, who will take on Austria's Juergen Koch next, has a clear path to the quarter-finals where he is expected to play against Chong Wei.
Those in the bottom half of the draw will see action today. The highlight of today's men's singles action will be a first-round match between unseeded defending champion Taufik Hidayat and Hong Kong's Ng Wei.
Malaysia's Mohd Hafiz Hashim will take on Ireland's Scott Evans in his opening match.
In the men's doubles competition, all the top eight pairs received byes into the second round, depriving the glamour from the first day's proceedings in the top half of the draw.
There was no upset in the morning session with the only excitement coming from Germans Roman Spitko-Michael Fuchs, who beat Frenchmen Erwin Kehlhoffner-Thomas Quere. The Germans had to go the full distance before prevailing 21-16, 19-21, 29-27.
All three Malaysian pairs in the competition will go into action in the second round tomorrow.
NATIONAL number three Kuan Beng Hong ended a run of three consecutive first-round exits with a winning debut at the World Championships at the Palacio de Deportes in Madrid yesterday.
Beng Hong, who was included in the tournament because veteran Wong Choong Hann has yet to recover fully from injury, defeated Australian Stuart Gomez 21-14, 21-12.
“After falling at the first hurdle in the Taiwan, Thailand and Korean Open in the last two months, it's a good feeling to win a match again,” he said.
“It is a very important win to boost my confidence and I hope I can improve on my performance from here.”
Beng Hong had suffered a lack of confidence and his performance deteriorated following his defeat in the decisive match of the Thomas Cup semi-final tie by Joachim Persson in Tokyo in May.
He will take on ninth-16th seed Przemyslaw Wacha of Poland in the second round tomorrow.
Persson created the biggest shock on the opening day of the championships when he sent South Korea's Shon Seung-mo packing in straight games.
Although Persson is ranked higher than Seung-mo at number 17 against number 30, the more experienced Korean, who won the silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, was the better bet to win the match. But the Dane won the match 22-20, 21-13.
Persson's valuable victory means that he is on course to take on top seeded Malaysian Lee Chong Wei in the third round. He is expected to get past either Slovakia's Luka Petric or Peru's Rodrigo Pacheco in the second round tomorrow.
China's Bao Chunlai got off to a fine start with a 21-15, 21-12 win over Russian Stanislav Pukhov. The Korean Open champion, who will take on Austria's Juergen Koch next, has a clear path to the quarter-finals where he is expected to play against Chong Wei.
Those in the bottom half of the draw will see action today. The highlight of today's men's singles action will be a first-round match between unseeded defending champion Taufik Hidayat and Hong Kong's Ng Wei.
Malaysia's Mohd Hafiz Hashim will take on Ireland's Scott Evans in his opening match.
In the men's doubles competition, all the top eight pairs received byes into the second round, depriving the glamour from the first day's proceedings in the top half of the draw.
There was no upset in the morning session with the only excitement coming from Germans Roman Spitko-Michael Fuchs, who beat Frenchmen Erwin Kehlhoffner-Thomas Quere. The Germans had to go the full distance before prevailing 21-16, 19-21, 29-27.
All three Malaysian pairs in the competition will go into action in the second round tomorrow.