Quite a dull affair, since the top Koreans and Danes are not playing. Anyway..... Quarter 1 - Top seeds, Flandy/Eng Hian's obstacle to last 8 is only their own countrymen, Luluk/Alven, whom they shall play in Round 3. Winners should meet Sang Yang/Zheng Bo (if they do not pull out). Quarter 2 - Choong/Lee should advance to last 8, provided that they do not meet any Indonesian qualifier in last 16 (who could upset the 4th seeded Japanese pair). Their possible opponents could be Cai/Fu or Indonesian pair of Riyadi/Gunawan. Quarter 3 - Chandra/Halim are virtually assured of a place in last 8, as there isn't any worthy Indonesian opponents along their path. - Chan/Chew will cross sword with the top English pair which put them to shame in Singapore. However, do not rule out that they may disappoint the Malaysian fans again.... The survivor however, will meet their match in the last 8 in the form of Chandra/Halim Quarter 4 - Sigit/Trikus are the runaway favourites, unless Sigit seriously offend his coach and got pull-out from competitions... I foresee an all-Indonesian affair from semis onwards (just like most of the previous INA Open editions): Flandy/Eng Hian vs Riyadi/Gunawan Chandra/Halim vs Sigit/Trikus
Not many surprises up to now with the fancied pairs (as below) safely thru to last 16. Flandi/Eng Hian (local pair) Luluk/Alven (local pair) Sang/Zheng Cai/Fu Choong/Lee Khido/Setiawan (local pair) Chandra/Halim (local pair) Yim/Kim Robertson/Clark Chan/Chew Trikus/Sigit (local pair) Cheng Rui/Chen Qiqiu Pramote/Tesana still battling against top HK pair.
Quarter-final results Sang/Zheng bt Luluk/Alven 15-9, 15-8 Choong/Lee bt Cai/Fu 15-8, 15-4 Chandra/Halim bt Kim/Yim 15-4, 15-8 Pramote/Tesana bt Chan/Chew 15-5, 15-5 Very impressive showing indeed from Choong/Lee who beat the top Chinese with such a convincing score in actual competition. Two weeks ago, they were the ones getting the trashing in the Malaysia-China friendlies. What a major reversal of fortune! Hope Choong/Lee will not be too carried away with this win and they do have a realistic chance to qualify for the final, since the next opponent is non-Indonesian! Chan/Chew is again a major flop!
Agreed. Choong/Lee should capitalise on this opportunity. Chan/Chew needs some timeout. Take a break from badminton and think about what they really want. Some weeks ago, Choong and Lee were struggling. Now they are slowly rediscovering their potential. They did well in Singpore, lets hope they go all the way this time.
Agree with you. However, time is running out to accumulate points for Athens 2004 and they just can't keep on letting their form deteriorate! I feel that next week's Malaysian Open should be served as the last chance for them. If they still could not perform, Yap KH should take drastic actions to bail himself out from the fire!!
Great job, Thailand!! Pramote/Tesana bt Chandra/Halim 7-15, 15-9, 15-8 It's quite impressive for Pramote to play such high level of badminton at the age of 36! So, age does not really matter in badminton!
China look good to bag their first major MD title tomorrow. Sang/Zheng should have the edge against the Thai pair. Go CHINA!!!
Yeah, I think you are right about time not enough for Athens. Looks like both out pairs have to play. However, if they still underperform, then Yap should give them a break to think about things. Reminds me about one of those cop movies, where the badges are suspended and the cop is resigned to desk work.
Taking a few months break means losing valuable Athens points. There are another 2 biggies within the next 2 months (5* Danish Open & 6* China Open). Malaysia is facing a big risk that they may only see 1 pair in Athens next year (Choong/Lee) if Chan/Chew failed to place themselves among the top 24. I strongly believe that Chan CM should find himself another partner if Chew CE is not up to the mark (both mental and skills).
I am sure feeling great for both pairs. Especially the chinese pairs doing a great job lately. Tang Xian hu really doing his job, and this could be another miracle in his resume. But, we have to say, all teh achievement are done, with the fact top 2 korean pairs out with inj. and the Dans are not even participating in Ind. Open.
Saw the MD semis bwt Pramote/Tessana vs Candra/Halim and Sang Yang/Zheng Bo vs Lee/Choong. First one got me banging my head agst the wall not because the INAs lost but because they looked so tired and uninspired (lack of chemistry in a new partnership? or was it just me?). Second one again got me banging my head agst the wall because Lee and Choong looked really crap agst the Chinese pair - no offense to Malaysian supporters but I kept thinking throughout the math: "OH COME ON! They telecasted this mainly coz of YOU!!!!!!!!!!" Anyway, nice going Tang Xianhu. Sang and Zheng look promising.
If Malaysian MD pairs don't buck up, then having them in Olympics will also be rather pointless. However, Choong/Lee have been showing some promise lately, and I hope they will be able to improve further. Losing to Sang/Zhang was a disappointment, and they have to ensure that they know what to do in similar situations next time. As for Chan/Chew, I have no idea what has come across them. On their good day, they are virtually unbeatable, but they are just not consistent enough. I think they really need to work on their mental fitness, apart from just the physical aspect. Hafiz has received suspension and will not be allowed to compete in big tournaments from now on. I think this serves him right.
I don't thing it's right to call it a suspension. What Misbun trying to do is for Hafiz to gain mathematical advantage over his other compatriots. Rather than let him compete in the biggies and lose in the first round, sending him to compete in tournaments which top players normally skip is thought to be a good strategy. If Hafiz wins the German and Dutch Open, he will certainly earn more ranking points than others who advance to last 16 or quarter finals of 5* Danish Open. However, like it or not, Misbun has to face the reality that even if Hafiz manages to qualify for Athens thru his designed path, he is unlikely to do well in Athens if his form does not improve.
Yeah, you are right. It is not really a suspension, but a mini suspension from biggies. Hafiz is only 20, and has a bright future ahead of him as a badminton star. However, if he continues going up and down like this, he will just fade away to nothingness. Misbun is right to bar him from biggies, but I hope he starts exposing Lee Chong Wei as well. Lee will be turning 20 very soon. Not sure about what he said for Choong Hann though, can you interpret that?
Hope Misbun and BAM will start opening their eyes on the youngsters in their squad. Lee CW certainly has justify his claims for more international outings with his good showing in Batam. Maybe some of you have not noticed, there's another promising youngster, Kuan Beng Hong who did quite well against Taufik in the Indonesian Open 1st round. In fact, he was the only player who stretch Taufik to 3 games in Batam.
(That's the problem when one don't have high-speed always-on connection to the Internet : I end up replying way too late but what the heck) I watched the Finals on TV the other day and here are a few comments I had to make. 1. TV1 is truly a pretty bad channel to watch baddy on. There's news every one hour for ten minutes and it disrupts the viewers! And how about unwanted 'expert' opinions they should go directly to Batam (broadcast, I mean...) instead? 2. Kim/Ra got some resistance against the Chinese in a pretty exciting game in the XD. As usual, I wasn't surprised that Kim/Ra made it to the finals, again, to win it, again. (Forrest Gump style) 3. The Finals was the very first time I ever watched Chen Hong play and I noticed something interesting though - for a tall and well toned guy like him, he's pretty graceful in his movement and shots! Totally unexpected. Nontheless, he lost to Taufik on home advantage and by making too many mistakes. Taufik won it fair and square. 4. The referee for the Finals was an Indonesian by the name of Hidayat! Is this allowed : an umpire for such a big game being a person from the same country as one of the finalist? I know Mr Hidayat made no mistakes but who knows what can happen. 5. The highlight of the day, I believe should be men's doubles - Experience vs Youth. Pramote and Tesana were awesome in their game with Pramote being the elder player with great touch and stroke while Tesana provided the firepower. They faced up against a powerful pair of starlets from China with devastating attacks in the likes of Sang Yang and Zheng Bo. This match was beyond exciting - it was exhilarating! The Chinese were on the verge of losing it already at the second game when it was 9 - 14 but they fought back to win it! Simply amazing stuff. At the end of the day, youth triumphed over experience. Is this Sang Yang & Zheng Bo's first title? I predict great things to come for them if they can keep up with this form and improve further. More experience needed as they have been caught way too often out of position by cleverly placed or disguised shots by Pramote. Oh, I simply love the way the first set ended - a smash down Pramote's left, replied with a fancy shot and falls inside which Zheng Bo totally bewildered. Pramote was simply an epitome of an experienced player taking on youngsters - less power, more placement. 6. Ends here. Why? I guess the powers that be in TV1 think that a Chn vs Chn or the women's event is not worth paying for in airtime. I am most disappointed by this and we all wonder why women are not so interested in the game in Malaysia? I was looking forward to see Xie Xingfang play for the first time and was waiting for the WD event. I became interested in the WD ever since the WC2003 and was bitterly disappointed... There you have it.
At leat you get International or nay badminton on televison - try living in Australia, where pay per view doesn't even have it (well almost never)!
