2007/06/23

Badminton / World Championships: Misbun: Chong Wei can win it!

By : K.M. Boopathy

NST Online (http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Saturday/Sport/20070623082732/Article/index_html)
http://www.nst.com.my/Saturday/Sport/20070623082732/insidepix1
Misbun (left) said Chong Wei’s change in attitude and extra effort in training have been the keys that revived his career.

NATIONAL singles coach Misbun Sidek, impressed with the rapid progress of Lee Chong Wei, believes the shuttler is a strong contender for the men’s singles title in the World Championships.
Misbun, who rarely makes bold predictions, even narrowed down Chong Wei’s threats to only three players — World No 1 and defending champion Lin Dan, his compatriot Chen Jin and Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia — in the Aug 13-19 championships in Kuala Lumpur.

Chong Wei, who has been training under Misbun since April, has shown marked improvement as he won the Indonesia Open title last month and secured a rare win over Lin Dan in the Sudirman Cup in Glasgow last week.

Misbun said Chong Wei’s change in attitude and extra effort in training have been the keys that revived the player’s career.

"Chong Wei is a strong candidate for the World Championships title. All he needs to do is maintain his current performance and he has the chance to win," said Misbun at the Juara Stadium yesterday.

"Taufik and the two players from China (Lin Dan and Chen Jin) are going to be his main threats but Chong Wei has the right attitude to go all the way.

"Before, Chong Wei had been very tense during tournaments and sometimes, he was even said to be arrogant. However, this is not the same player you will see in tournaments these days as he is very humble off the court and very confident on court.

"Chong Wei has learnt to keep his emotions in check, the hunger for success is back and he has the strength to challenge his toughest opponents. All these qualities were clearly evident in Glasgow and I expect his form to continue right through the World Championships."

Wong Choong Hann is the only Malaysian singles player to reach the final of the World Championships and co-incidentally, it was Misbun who guided the player to achieve the result in Birmingham in 2003.

However, Choong Hann found his bogeyman Xia Xuanze of China waiting and suffered a heartbreaking three-game defeat.

Having already secured a psychological advantage over Lin Dan after his victory in the Sudirman Cup, Chong Wei will be more concerned about Taufik whom the Malaysian has lost to seven times in nine meetings.

Taufik is still undecided about competing in the World Championships as his wife is due to give birth to their first child a few days before the event and the Indonesian’s absence would be a great relief for Chong Wei.

Chong Wei has better track record against Chen Jin while another player from China, Bao Chunlai shouldn’t pose the Malaysian a problem despite beating him in last year’s World Championships in Madrid, Spain.

Misbun is wary of the challenge of World No 5 Chen Yu though as the shuttler has beaten Chong Wei in their last three meetings but still expects the latter to pull through should they meet in the World Championships.

The fact that Chong Wei is a solid performer at home could also work in his favour and if he strikes form, there is an outside chance of seeing a Malaysian crowned as the world champion for the first time.

i also believe he could do it. based on his latest feats, he showed a lot of fighting spirit and i have always respected sportsmen/women who came back from a slump or injury all the more determined to be better and show their inner strength. :D I wish for victory for LCW. :)

THIS IS EXACTLY WAD I MEANT EARLIER ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

all athletes will definitely have their ups and their downs.... so, this indicates that LCW's down is over and its time for him go even further....!!! :D

off topic

http://www.nst.com.my/Saturday/Sport/20070623082732/insidepix1

what language does misbun use to coach lcw ?

language is the important key, the players can understand fully what his/her coaches tell or want to do

off topic

http://www.nst.com.my/Saturday/Sport/20070623082732/insidepix1

what language does misbun use to coach lcw ?

language is the important key, the players can understand fully what his/her coaches tell or want to do

of course it's in malay/bahasa malaysia (our national language) plus some english maybe

really? language is that important. how come international football players can understand their teammates and their coaches coz i know they only know a smattering of whatever language it is their using in the country they are playing. i think sports is a universal language too. like music. you can still send the information across via hand gestures and drawings, and plain demonstration if need be. but a language shared would be all the more efficient i think. :D

i wanted to edit the above post but there was some problem either with the server or my computer but for a while it hanged. so the part i want to edit is the "language is that important ? " there should be a question mark there.

really? language is that important. how come international football players can understand their teammates and their coaches coz i know they only know a smattering of whatever language it is their using in the country they are playing. i think sports is a universal language too. like music. you can still send the information across via hand gestures and drawings, and plain demonstration if need be. but a language shared would be all the more efficient i think. :D

football is team sport and more tactical, and badminton is more individual... in football coach can only draw the tactic and strategy in a whiteboard and the player will understand what to do, and in badminton, what will be drawn :D :p ?...

Mr.Misbun,It's time for u to shine again!!:DSo,put all ur effort on Chong Wei!!:);)
Chong Wei,prove to all Malaysian tat u can win consistantly n become world no.1 again!!Don let ur fans dissapointed again!!;)

football is team sport and more tactical, and badminton is more individual... in football coach can only draw the tactic and strategy in a whiteboard and the player will understand what to do, and in badminton, what will be drawn :D :p ?...

i believe that badminton is also a tactical sport. i think all sports need tactics. and maybe in football they can draw positions and game plan and such, and maybe badminton is harder to draw. but the court is small, the the coach can always show a demonstration of what he wants the player to do. if it is drills, he can gesture for them to feed the bird and show what drill to do. and how many times, well, he can use his fingers. but i think numbers are easy to remember and easy to learn in english. in terms of tactic, really, all he needs to do is show what he wants the player to do via demonstration too. but yeah, i concur that without a common language, it will be harder to impart knowledge. however, i believe it could be done. :D

he better will.....haha

Needless to say LCW represents the greatest chance for Malaysia to win the WC. If Misbun cannot steer him to winning this WC, nobody can and I say this without malice to other coaches.

The preparation is perfect -- I kinda think Misbun has timed it so well. Two hard tournaments (China Masters, where LCW is still getting into fitness and then the Philippines Open where I suspect he would hit peak by winning it) is what the doctor ordered before the WC.

The Chinese a fearsome team to most will not be getting their own way this time. First, they will be playing in a hostile place, where Malaysian fans like me are just irksome and unrepentantly one-eyed. Secondly, all the other Malaysian players will produce their best to tire LD/BAO/CHENs. Last but not least, Malaysian players know the stadium well and have got used to it (there is some quirkiness which I think LD is never comfortable when he was playing here).

All said and done, we will drive the fear into the Chinese players when they get into the stadium. There will be no place to hide, all the elements will be against them.:D

Taufik can stop LCW... but TH has to give up hard-liquor for a month before the World Championship... er... that would be almost impossible for Taufik. Ha ha ha...

Needless to say LCW represents the greatest chance for Malaysia to win the WC. If Misbun cannot steer him to winning this WC, nobody can and I say this without malice to other coaches.

The preparation is perfect -- I kinda think Misbun has timed it so well. Two hard tournaments (China Masters, where LCW is still getting into fitness and then the Philippines Open where I suspect he would hit peak by winning it) is what the doctor ordered before the WC.

The Chinese a fearsome team to most will not be getting their own way this time. First, they will be playing in a hostile place, where Malaysian fans like me are just irksome and unrepentantly one-eyed. Secondly, all the other Malaysian players will produce their best to tire LD/BAO/CHENs. Last but not least, Malaysian players know the stadium well and have got used to it (there is some quirkiness which I think LD is never comfortable when he was playing here).

All said and done, we will drive the fear into the Chinese players when they get into the stadium. There will be no place to hide, all the elements will be against them.:D
XBall, you should yell or get someone to yell "break LD legs" and get someone to flash as Romeo said in another thread with you and me "flash at FU/Cai" and MAs get the advantage...hahaha!!! LOL!!:D:p

XBall, you should yell or get someone to yell "break LD legs" and get someone to flash as Romeo said in another thread with you and me "flash at FU/Cai" and MAs get the advantage...hahaha!!! LOL!!:D:p

Hope you are only going to be flashing with a camera, and not flashing by lifting your shirt up or pulling your pants down:mad: We will have a class-action lawsuit ready for you if you dare do the latter!!!:p

Needless to say LCW represents the greatest chance for Malaysia to win the WC. If Misbun cannot steer him to winning this WC, nobody can and I say this without malice to other coaches.

The preparation is perfect -- I kinda think Misbun has timed it so well. Two hard tournaments (China Masters, where LCW is still getting into fitness and then the Philippines Open where I suspect he would hit peak by winning it) is what the doctor ordered before the WC.

The Chinese a fearsome team to most will not be getting their own way this time. First, they will be playing in a hostile place, where Malaysian fans like me are just irksome and unrepentantly one-eyed. Secondly, all the other Malaysian players will produce their best to tire LD/BAO/CHENs. Last but not least, Malaysian players know the stadium well and have got used to it (there is some quirkiness which I think LD is never comfortable when he was playing here).

All said and done, we will drive the fear into the Chinese players when they get into the stadium. There will be no place to hide, all the elements will be against them.:D

I thought LCW is so good that he doesn't require any outside "assistance" to defeat any Chinese players... but even his most supportive fan X Ball knows the truth is that without home ground advantage + crazy fans creating a hostile environment, and team work against the Chinese, LCW will have no chance of winning the title.

However, I wouldn't mind you guys doing all that, as after all is set and done, we won't see LCW or any Malaysian winning MS, nor will we see any China player winning either... but we definitely will see Peter Gade be the man staning in the podium with the MS world champion title.:D + Wacha as the runner-up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:eek::p:p:p:p:p

Hope you are only going to be flashing with a camera, and not flashing by lifting your shirt up or pulling your pants down:mad: We will have a class-action lawsuit ready for you if you dare do the latter!!!:p
No, we are going to recruit to do this job...hahaha!!! LOL!!:D

"Taufik and the two players from China (Lin Dan and Chen Jin) are going to be his main threats but Chong Wei has the right attitude to go all the way. "

I am suprised that one of my fav players (Gade) was discarded from the LCW-stopper list. Why why why? :crying: Does it mean WACHA has overtaken Gade? :eek::D:p

Watcha watcha... to win WC07...!!! :eek:

Yeah rite.....but I think Chong Wei has a big chance to make it to semi-finals. You can imagine LYB telling LD "you have no other options but to win this title" and now think who has a bigger chance ?

XBall, you should yell or get someone to yell "break LD legs" and get someone to flash as Romeo said in another thread with you and me "flash at FU/Cai" and MAs get the advantage...hahaha!!! LOL!!:D:p


U are one tough Birdie ! LOL

I thought LCW is so good that he doesn't require any outside "assistance" to defeat any Chinese players... but even his most supportive fan X Ball knows the truth is that without home ground advantage + crazy fans creating a hostile environment, and team work against the Chinese, LCW will have no chance of winning the title.

However, I wouldn't mind you guys doing all that, as after all is set and done, we won't see LCW or any Malaysian winning MS, nor will we see any China player winning either... but we definitely will see Peter Gade be the man staning in the podium with the MS world champion title.:D + Wacha as the runner-up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:eek::p:p:p:p:p

All said and done, I don't think we will get an acknowldgement that you were wrong even if PG does not win, and worse, you probably go on about LCW being useless even if he wins. So what is new from you --- ZILCH !

Gade hasn't been performing well since S'pore Open. I saw him play, he was flustered against Kenneth in the q-finals, and barely won. Next day, he was stopped by an ice-cool Chen Yu.

After that, he was knocked out in the early rounds in INA and CHN super series, and didn't do very well in Sudirman Cup either. And neither did Kenneth Jonassen and Joachim Persson either.

So it's probably true, time for WACHA to shine for the Europeans in this WC.

LYB has his own problems, other than LD, none of his other top MS provided good results after Swiss Open. His benchmark is to win tournaments, not to just qualify for final.

This is really an amazing sport, for half a year from last year's WC to the Swiss Open this year, CHN MS was really dominating (except Malaysian Open), before the cycle was broken in S'pore.

With CH a non-starter, LD may have to go it alone this time. And given the situation with his teammates, if LD retains the title, I will really salute him this time .....

LYB has his own problems, other than LD, none of his other top MS provided good results after Swiss Open. His benchmark is to win tournaments, not to just qualify for final.

This is really an amazing sport, for half a year from last year's WC to the Swiss Open this year, CHN MS was really dominating (except Malaysian Open), before the cycle was broken in S'pore.

With CH a non-starter, LD may have to go it alone this time. And given the situation with his teammates, if LD retains the title, I will really salute him this time .....


I think the non China players are putting in their effort -- they are sick of being beaten. On the other hand, China players are probably slowing down (they have been winning for too long).

I expect the crunch for China will be the WC. If they lose the MS, then I think all hell will break loose. I don't know what will happen but LYB has better work up an alibi.:D

I was wondering what type of kepala pening he is having (the Hafiz brother pening) but I don't think is LCW that give that kepala pening

It will be sad for us not to see WCH, CH in actions for this coming WC... They are both great Badminton MS players... A true fighters !

It will be sad for us not to see WCH, CH in actions for this coming WC... They are both great Badminton MS players... A true fighters !


In a way, I am not sad because they would not win anyway if they participate. For us, if WCH loses, it agonises. So better if he is not playing.

In a way, I am not sad because they would not win anyway if they participate. For us, if WCH loses, it agonises. So better if he is not playing.

Chen Hong and Wong Choon Han might not win, true, but based on their performances, determination and current ranking, they deserve to be there. More so than Bao Chunlai, Chen Jin, Chen Yu, and the Hashim brothers. :(

And we loves to see their styles in the games... exciting.. fascinating... never ending attitude... Many players who qualify for this WC certainly lack of those kinda spirits as them ..

LCW rox la :) hav faith mlsians :)

... have faith Malaysians ...

Yeah, I really agree with Misbun.

Lee Choong Wei in the past has shown a lot of inability in controlling his emotions. I would think that his biggest loss of control was in 2006 WC when he lost against Bao ChunLai. Upsets in emotions not only lead to loss of concentration, but it may end up costing you the game. I think bad line calls were his downfall. Every time one popped up during a bad time, he'd really lose it. But now it's different. He's got a whole new game face, better concentration, and more maturity on court. If he keeps his current form, I wouldn't doubt that he has a really good chance. However it's hard to tell. Taufik is certainly a wind to be reckoned with. However because Taufik is like wind, it really depends if he feels his game or not. If he doesn't "feel", then it hard to say if he's got his game going. Lin Dan is on other hand will be a hard challenge. If Lee comes up against him, then Lee will be facing Fitness, Speed, and Power (and some brain). Because of these qualities, Lin usually has been able to overcome Lee with these factors. However, when Lin does keep his mind to it, I have doubts to whether Lee can beat him. Because Lee has a few things above his opponent. Calmness, Net play, and Courtesy. But if Lin brings out the Zen in himself, Lee might not win. Overall, if all goes well, and if Lee doesn't feel the pressure again, I think we might see a monumental match between the two again.

Lee Chong Wei have a high chance of advancing to Finals. If he play a little better than what he is doing now.. he may be able to win it as well.

Well, he will need to play at least at the same level as when he beat Taufik in the China Masters q-final. That one was really a classic dogfight.

The X factor is Taufik!!! We know Lin Dan will be seeded #1 and Chong Wei #2 and none of these players want to be the same half with Taufik. The draw can virtually path the road for the champion, like it or not :crying:

The X factor is Taufik!!! We know Lin Dan will be seeded #1 and Chong Wei #2 and none of these players want to be the same half with Taufik. The draw can virtually path the road for the champion, like it or not :crying:

What you said is totally UNTRUE! Reality check:

Taufik lost to Peter Gade in Singapore open;

Taufik lost to Bao CL in Indonesia open with home court advantage;

Taufik even lost to Nyen Tienmin in Philippines open.

......

Taufik didn't have a chance to meet Lin Dan or Lee CW in most tournaments.

I found something weird about you guys viewing Taufik. For example,

when Lee CW lost several tournaments, people said he lost his form.

when Lin Dan won several tournaments in a row, people said he's not the best in the world yet.

when Taufik failed constantly, people still believe he's the best in the world, and he can win whenever he wants to.

What you said is totally UNTRUE! Reality check:

Taufik lost to Peter Gade in Singapore open;

Taufik lost to Bao CL in Indonesia open with home court advantage;

Taufik even lost to Nyen Tienmin in Philippines open.

......

Taufik didn't have a chance to meet Lin Dan or Lee CW in most tournaments.

I found something weird about you guys viewing Taufik. For example,

when Lee CW lost several tournaments, people said he lost his form.

when Lin Dan won several tournaments in a row, people said he's not the best in the world yet.

when Taufik failed constantly, people still believe he's the best in the world, and he can win whenever he wants to.

LOL.:D
Another example is:
Lin Dan won like at least 4-5 tournaments/year for at least 3 years in a row, with 7 titles alone in 2006. Yet LD is not recognized as the best in this era. However, as soon as LCW won the Indo open + PO, he is now the unbeatable superman and 90+% of Malaysians think he is the world champ to be already.:confused:

But what am I saying... I am cheering for Wacha in WC 07!!!:p

LOL.:D
Another example is:
Lin Dan won like at least 4-5 tournaments/year for at least 3 years in a row, with 7 titles alone in 2006. Yet LD is not recognized as the best in this era. However, as soon as LCW won the Indo open + PO, he is now the unbeatable superman and 90+% of Malaysians think he is the world champ to be already.:confused:

But what am I saying... I am cheering for Wacha in WC 07!!!:p

PPls recognized TH success mostly becoz he has won all the major title in his bag except for AE.. Its can be compare with any tennis players who have all the Grand Slam Title in his collections.
LD can won 10-20 tournaments in one year but still failed to produce a single gold medals in OG which can be considered the highest achievements for a single sportsman to get !!

He's not consistent.Thats the problem with Th.if only he can win several tournaments consecutively,badminton fans will absolutely 'recognize' him.
not only that,we will say proudly that he is the best player in this era.

Taufik chooses his tournament.

id prefer a LCW vs TH final ... than a LD final ...

to answer you honestly, and after some surveys from my badminton friends, i ask them why they like taufik over lin dan, they said: lin dan relies much more on smash.. the main thing that he does is put you in a off-balanced stance and then smash you... meanwhile, taufik moves every opponent throughout the whole court, its four corners and all its sides... he used wits and control more than his power.... i believe he is like LCW very much...

of course it's in malay/bahasa malaysia (our national language) plus some english maybeMalayish:D

...............

to answer you honestly, and after some surveys from my badminton friends, i ask them why they like taufik over lin dan, they said: lin dan relies much more on smash.. the main thing that he does is put you in a off-balanced stance and then smash you... meanwhile, taufik moves every opponent throughout the whole court, its four corners and all its sides... he used wits and control more than his power.... i believe he is like LCW very much...


Simple word is that Taufik has a better showmanship than LinDan. However in tournament.. Win is Win.. no matter what techniques.. end result is to win.

The X factor is Taufik!!! We know Lin Dan will be seeded #1 and Chong Wei #2 and none of these players want to be the same half with Taufik. The draw can virtually path the road for the champion, like it or not :crying:

As far as top seeds are concerned, whoever beats TH will lose in the next rounds just like what happened in MO07 & CM07. It must have taken a lot mentally & physically from a player to beat TH.

I found something weird about you guys viewing Taufik. For example,
when Lee CW lost several tournaments, people said he lost his form.
when Lin Dan won several tournaments in a row, people said he's not the best in the world yet.
when Taufik failed constantly, people still believe he's the best in the world, and he can win whenever he wants to.

Another example is:
Lin Dan won like at least 4-5 tournaments/year for at least 3 years in a row, with 7 titles alone in 2006. Yet LD is not recognized as the best in this era. However, as soon as LCW won the Indo open + PO, he is now the unbeatable superman and 90+% of Malaysians think he is the world champ to be already.:confused:

The truth is, most of the people here don't like LD.:D People are double-standard, so what?:rolleyes:

no use arguing till we see wads gonna happen in the end of the day of Aug 19, 2007.... :D

my bet: TH/LD vs TH/LCWfinal....

cuz draw now out, no idea which half will TH be... but still dun forget bout CJ and BCL... :D

id prefer a LCW vs TH final ... than a LD final ...
Agree ,agree, and agree.That should happen long time ago.