Badminton: Taufik out to rule ABC
By RIZAL ABDULLAH

JOHOR BARU: Indonesian star Taufik Hidayat is ready to throw in a strong challenge in the US$125,000 Yonex-Sunrise Asian Badminton Championships (ABC), which began at the Indoor Stadium here with the qualifying round yesterday.

The reigning Olympic and world champion surprised the badminton world last month when he pulled out of the All-England and Swiss Open championships. He skipped the two tournaments after the All-Indonesian Badminton (PBSI) did not take action against seven players for having competed in a non-sanctioned tournament in Papua New Guinea after having issued a warning that they would be punished if they did so.

“I am here to get a good result,” said Taufik after a training session at the Johor Badminton Association Hall in Larkin yesterday.

“The ABC is part of my preparations for the Singapore Open (May 1-6) but my target is to win the Indonesian Open (May 7-13). I have not played in a tournament since I lost to Lin Dan in the first round in the Malaysian Open.” Taufik is now ranked 20th in the world and is seeded fifth-eighth in the ABC. Defending champion Lee Chong Wei is the top seed ahead of China's Chen Hong, who is making a quick return to competitive badminton after announcing his retirement from the game recently.

Barring any upsets, Chong Wei is tipped to play against Taufik in the quarter-finals. Taufik has won his last two matches against the Malaysian number one – the latest was in the semi-finals of the Doha Asian Games last December. “Because of my poor ranking, we will cross paths in the quarter-finals. It is not going to be easy playing against Chong Wei, who has the advantage of home crowd support,”
said Taufik, who took the gold medal in the Doha Asiad.

“Chong Wei is a good player but sometimes he lacks the mental strength. But I cannot dwell on my past results.

“When I did not go to the All-England and Swiss Open, I just enjoyed my training and spent time with my wife. I am not thinking of the World Championships in August because my wife is also expecting our first child at that time.” However, Taufik, who opens his campaign against Saeki Koichi of Japan, was also quick to point out that he has to be wary of his other opponents. He also has in his quarter Malaysian Sairul Amar Ayob, who won the Dutch Open last year.
The ABC is the last tournament for the players to pick up ranking points for the qualification for the World Championships, which will be held in Kuala Lumpur in August. The Olympic qualifying period begins on May 1 and the Asian badminton powerhouses have chosen to keep their top players at home to prepare for the Open tournaments in Singapore and Indonesian. Meanwhile, the only Malaysian involved in the qualifying round yesterday, Vivian Hoo Kah Mun, failed to make the main draw of the women's singles competition. She was beaten 9-21, 14-21 by Japan's Fujii Mizuki.

Yeah...:) Taufik is here to prove the good results in the ABC'S after he lost to Lin Dan in the 1st round in the Malaysian Open this year. He's going to play against Lee Chong Wei in the quarter-finals, but i wish Chong Wei will win against Taufik.It is not easy to win over each other. :rolleyes: But if Taufik didn't make it to the W.C because of his poor ranking 20th in the world , a bit disappointed for me because i can't see him to compete in the world championships which are held in Kuala Lumpur this year. :crying: I hope both will make it to the W.C. Taufik said that his target is to win the Indonesian Open (May7-13). :D I hope Taufik will not skip anymore tournaments in this year because he needs to qualify for the next year 2008 Beijing Olympics although he had said that he's not thinking of the world championships this year because his wife is expecting their 1st child together. :( I wish all the Malaysian shuttler can prove their achievement in the ABC's and in the upcoming tournaments. I wish they can bring back the glory that they had achieved in the last year's 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. :rolleyes:

"Hey Taufik, you are right about LCW, this kid lacks mental strength. On the other hand, you are damn wrong about him, he lacks the strength 24x7, not sometimes"

"Hey Taufik, you are right about LCW, this kid lacks mental strength. On the other hand, you are damn wrong about him, he lacks the strength 24x7, not sometimes"
Agree with you that LCW mental strength and confidence are down presently. But lacking mental strength 24/7, well, that is quite harsh...he did come from behind to win MO06, and that video I consider as one of my favorites...the other two are ZJH/JS at AE90 and LCW/LD at AE06. Won't you agree????:)

Yes MO2006 was a great display of mental strength on LCW's part.

I do not think it has anything to do with his mental strength. If it was, he would not have beaten so many top guys.

The guy is just error prone -- sometimes if the opposition is putting you on pressure with a faster pace your rhythm is upset and you tend to make errors. LCW has to balance that -- get his rhythm going fluently when under attack (especially when someone changes the pace). Somehow under Li Mao's training, he lost that. This is what he is trying to get back by going back to his former master, Misbun.

For all the people criticising his move back to Misbun, you have got no clue what you are talking, nor would you know what I am talking about. :)

You got to have 'Rhythm' to win !

Taufik doesn't look sharp at all this time.

Is coaching that important?

Many Chinese players, like Pi Hong Yan, Xu HW, were not good enough in the national team. So they moved to Europe, as Yao Jie once said, she can only training with her boyfriend. But they can still beat those China national starters, even though they are better from the beginning and under the best coaching also.

I always believe in players themselves.

I do not think it has anything to do with his mental strength. If it was, he would not have beaten so many top guys.

The guy is just error prone -- sometimes if the opposition is putting you on pressure with a faster pace your rhythm is upset and you tend to make errors. LCW has to balance that -- get his rhythm going fluently when under attack (especially when someone changes the pace). Somehow under Li Mao's training, he lost that. This is what he is trying to get back by going back to his former master, Misbun.

For all the people criticising his move back to Misbun, you have got no clue what you are talking, nor would you know what I am talking about. :)

You got to have 'Rhythm' to win !

If you are talking about pressure, then obviously mental strength is involved. I think every sports event involves mental strength.

So correct from Taufik. LCW is fading, fading and fading.

The curse of Li Mao has completely turned LCW into the next Mr. Quarter-finalist after LHI.:p:D:D:D

Out of 5 tournaments that LCW entered this year, he earned 4 quarter-final spots, HOW can you be more consistent than that?:cool: MALAYSIA BOLEH

He cannot be called inconsistent then. In fact he is the very model of consistency.

Lee Chong Wei's current position can be described as "I am hanging in there...."
Hafiz's current position can be described as "I barely survived...."

Unless there's something really wrong with LCW's attitude in everything from training to actual playing in tournaments, he should and will improve. But if he was too proud before, thinking that he was the best already.... then it's tough to pick up from there..... CW, don't give up !

I do not think it has anything to do with his mental strength. If it was, he would not have beaten so many top guys.

The guy is just error prone -- sometimes if the opposition is putting you on pressure with a faster pace your rhythm is upset and you tend to make errors. LCW has to balance that -- get his rhythm going fluently when under attack (especially when someone changes the pace). Somehow under Li Mao's training, he lost that. This is what he is trying to get back by going back to his former master, Misbun.

For all the people criticising his move back to Misbun, you have got no clue what you are talking, nor would you know what I am talking about. :)

You got to have 'Rhythm' to win !
X Ball you owe me a meal.

LCW's mistakes is everywhere, even when TH's rhythm was upset. So i think you might be wrong again.

LCW has a very troubled mind and performance lately.....and plus Misbun....hahaa.....will get even worse. I've said from the 1st round that if he continues to be a stroke player, he will lose to TH again which he did.

LCW is lucky that he can even reach QF. If the Korean youngster has the stamina to continue on his attacking play, LCW will be long gone. LCW cant even see some of the smashes of that young player.

Advise for LCW.
1) Stay away from Misbun, if noone can help u, dun find sum1 that can even make it worse. I've just watched Misbun's games when i went back pg that day from my dad's collection. not good. his play was very similar to HH.....one word to describe-LAZY.

2)Keep all his double motion shots back in his pocket. Keep his net shot to the simplest it can be. Only use double motion shot once in a while (now he uses almost half of all his front net shots). They can be used to trick inexperience player but never the top ones. Double motion shots are time consuming and will give time for the opponents to recover (from an under pressure position) during that particular rally. Another thing is double motion shots are very hard to get them done precisely or perfectly and will give chance for the opponents to put extra pressure back on you on that rally.

3)Play Single more like double. Minimise the lifting of shuttle for the opponents. Yes, he can dive here and there to save those amazing cant-be-saved smashes; yes, it is very very entertaining, the crowds loved it. but thing is, he can save 3 or 4 smashes, but can he saves all 30 or 50 of them? the answer is NO. So if he cant save all, better try to minimise those shots that can enable the opponents to pose this threat against him and that will be the best solution to this issue.

4)Be proactive in his play. Stop being a maid and running around for the opponents. Be the boss and control the rally which also mean to put on a series of shots to put pressure on the opponents, thus createing an opportunity for him to deliver his killer shots.

5)Work on his net play. His delicate touch of net play isnt there anymore (not talking about double motion net play). Every good master planning of a rally needs a good net shot to start with or to end with.

If you analyze properly, all the opponents that LCW lost to for the last one year has excelled in the tournament that they won LCW. The only exception: Ronald Susilo whom failed to advance after winning LCW.

LCW's mental strength is poor because he put too much pressure on himself when he was in top form. He has transformed fan's expectation to his pressure which is absolutely unnecessary.

The curse of Li Mao has completely turned LCW into the next Mr. Quarter-finalist after LHI.:p:D:D:D

Out of 5 tournaments that LCW entered this year, he earned 4 quarter-final spots, HOW can you be more consistent than that?:cool: MALAYSIA BOLEH

hehehehehe.......:D:D:D:D:D

OUCH! For someone to point out his lack of mental strength publically, coupled with his already low (non-existent?) level of confidence will do LCW even less good. Talk about kicking a guy when he's down. Poor chap, he must have so much doubt about his abilities right now.

Yeah the minute when i saw that article, i know it will do more harm than good to already troubled LCW.

maybe it was part of TH's plan to crumble LCW's confidence. or he might have done it accidentally?
http://www.answers.com/main/images/aNorthEast.gif http://www.answers.com/main/images/cLeftTop.gif http://www.answers.com/main/images/cRightTop.gif

http://www.answers.com/main/images/cLeftBottom.gif http://www.answers.com/main/images/cRightBottom.gif

In fact, he is the most consistent MAS singles player. Excellent mental strength will eventually turn him into a great player instead of good player. Therefore, Misbun is right in emphasizing this issue to him.

OUCH! For someone to point out his lack of mental strength publically, coupled with his already low (non-existent?) level of confidence will do LCW even less good. Talk about kicking a guy when he's down. Poor chap, he must have so much doubt about his abilities right now.

Don't worry, LCW's confidence is in recovery state. Read what he told BERNAMA after the tournament.

"I must admit he controlled the game. I made a few unforced errrors too and they affected my confidence. Still, I am happy with my performance as I could match him at times," said Chong Wei.

Don't worry, LCW's confidence is in recovery state. Read what he told BERNAMA after the tournament.

"I must admit he controlled the game. I made a few unforced errrors too and they affected my confidence. Still, I am happy with my performance as I could match him at times," said Chong Wei.

For his sake, I really hope LCW is building up his confidence again. I like him as a player and from most accounts, he's a good guy.

However, I doubt he himself fully believes in his own words. It's almost like he's trying to convince himself he did OK... like trying to make the best out of a bad situation. According to the report from the Badminton Asia Championship website, Taufik won handily, which can only suggest that LCW's satisfied with the small positive steps he's taken.

Yeah the minute when i saw that article, i know it will do more harm than good to already troubled LCW.

maybe it was part of TH's plan to crumble LCW's confidence. or he might have done it accidentally?

I honestly don't think Taufik did it purposely but I'm sure he had an inkling about LCW's current state of mind. Unfortunately, every little thing said piles on the pressure even more.

TH did win handily. LCW was trying to convince himself as what u have suggested here.

He wont be posibbly satisfied as he had been in the top before, almost beating everyone that was on his way. Having the fame like KKK/TBH. How could he be really and possibly satisfied?

But it is good that he has taken this step to comfort himself, preventing himself from thinking about this loss on and on and on again which wont help at all.

Let it go LCW.

TH is good friend of LCW, right? I am not surprised that he knows well about LCW's current state of mind.

I still really want to see another LCW vs LD clash. It would be interesting to see if that would bring out the best in LCW once more. I don't think they have played in quite a while have they?

Hes getting old, by Chinese terms :)

sorry... i dun LWC going anywhere under misbun.

sorry... i dun LWC going anywhere under misbun.

telll that Misbun/LCW fan X Ball meh........:D:D:D:D

sorry... i dun LWC going anywhere under misbun.

He was spectacular when he first started with Misbun. I think his slide is very much to do with the person himself. Misbun did not cause his slide nor Hafiz.

Somewhere in the last year, something happened that caused LCW's slide (did he ease off in his training or was he lulled into the state he is currently in with his success similar to Hafiz). Is it a 7-year curse someone put on him ? Or, is he spending more time chasing 'Meow' rather than his badminton career.

Some people can deal with success better than others : generally, people who have a bigger picture of things will not be satisfied and continue to chase their career harder than people who have no big ambition. The latter typically are satisfied with simple successes and ease off quite quickly. I hope LCW is not the case.

The fortunate thing is every person needs to 'survive' --- I hope that survival instinct will push him to strive again for success. The mind is interesting because it can be convinced to change quite quickly, if there is a will. The body can be willed back by the mind. LCW has to reach deep into his own mind for that bit that took him to success a year ago. It is all within reach.

Of course, Misbun is an easy convenient blame for the players downfall -- I have seen him working hard and many times I am sure he believes all his proteges have shown him improvement in training. But unless your execution is good during tournament time, the best of training amounts to zilch. My take on this is that the players have to excel themselves...we can hire LYB and he would not be able to do anything better if the players don't get their act together.

i agree too.

has misbun produced any true champions.. i am trying to recall. cheers

LCW in badminton depression la. What to do? takes time to recover. Just like "break up".
rgds

I am a big fan of Taufik and I hope he wins ABC and carry on his best performance to SG Open... go go taufik :p

I am a big fan of Taufik and I hope he wins ABC and carry on his best performance to SG Open... go go taufik :p

Taufik is a latter-day version of Rudy Hartono. He has got power, height, intelligence, and skills. If he decides to hang around, LD would not have all his way. It is good for badminton.

Yes, a good one for taufik to win to keep up with the others coming SO.
For LCW, he seems to walk with face looking downward. Its a non-confidence sign. Posture no good.

Yes, a good one for taufik to win to keep up with the others coming SO.
For LCW, he seems to walk with face looking downward. Its a non-confidence sign. Posture no good.

Bad Feng Shui, isn't it if posture is bad ?:D

if LCW is really ageing already, he can emulate taufik and rely mainly on his net plays and placing... taufik has relied alot on his net plays maybe when he started to feel that his back can't take it anymore.... :D

if LCW is really ageing already, he can emulate taufik and rely mainly on his net plays and placing... taufik has relied alot on his net plays maybe when he started to feel that his back can't take it anymore.... :D

Yes, Taufik is so confident with his net plays. I wonder how many hours he put in practising net plays.

Taufik is a latter-day version of Rudy Hartono. He has got power, height, intelligence, and skills. If he decides to hang around, LD would not have all his way. It is good for badminton.

Absolutely agree. IMHO, only two non-chinese players can stop LD. They are Taufik and Gade. No disrespect to other players, but I dont see other players can topple LD even on his bad days.

Hopefully Taufik can stop the mighty LD :p

Yes, Taufik is so confident with his net plays. I wonder how many hours he put in practising net plays.

Yes, I watched the Asian Doha Game final between LD and Taufik, and Taufik's net plays were close to perfect. Even the mighty LD agreed that Taufik was so quick at the net. go go Taufik...

Absolutely agree. IMHO, only two non-chinese players can stop LD. They are Taufik and Gade. No disrespect to other players, but I dont see other players can topple LD even on his bad days.

Hopefully Taufik can stop the mighty LD :p

do you include injuries as a part of those "bad days?"

LD got injured in the Swiss Open... Easy win for Simon..:D He won on LD's bad day... hahaha

Yes, I watched the Asian Doha Game final between LD and Taufik, and Taufik's net plays were close to perfect. Even the mighty LD agreed that Taufik was so quick at the net. go go Taufik...

and i also remembered taufik's return of LD's net kill... he did that very calmly... i guess he just anticipated it very well..

do you include injuries as a part of those "bad days?"

LD got injured in the Swiss Open... Easy win for Simon..:D He won on LD's bad day... hahaha

*LOL* Bad days = "playing badly". It means, "playing" the whole match. :p If I'm not mistaken, LD did not finish the match, so it was NOT a "bad day" but a "W.O".