New Straits Times » Sport BADMINTON: Hafiz regrets, but still hopeful K.M. Boopathy Feb 05: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HAFIZ Hashim has conceded that he is not in the best condition to defend the All-England, but is still hopeful that national singles coach Misbun Sidek will consider him for the tournament on March 9-14. Hafiz, who won Malaysia’s first singles title since 1966 in Birmingham last year, came under heavy criticism from Misbun for his lackadaisical attitude and has been banished from joining national training sessions until he bucks up. Misbun has already made it clear that Hafiz can forget about competing in the Swiss Open (March 7) and All-England, if there is no positive changes in the shuttler’s attitude. Hafiz, who said that he has realised his mistakes, is ready to face the consequences even if this means that he might have to relinquish his All-England crown without a fight. To compound matters, Hafiz’s wrist injury, sustained three months ago, has made things worse for the 22-year-old player who was performing well below par since his triumph in Birmingham. "I have learnt from my mistakes and leave it to the coach (Misbun) to decide my fate. Although I have recovered from the injury, I am not in perfect condition to defend the All-England title," said Hafiz. "However, I am still looking forward to competing in the All-England and also the Swiss Open as I need the ranking points for Olympic qualification. "I want to make amends and prove my commitment again if I get an opportunity to play in Europe. "It will be disappointing if I am dropped from these tournaments but I will take it in my stride if that is the final decision." Hafiz has another three weeks to prove that he has changed for the better as Misbun will be utilising him for sparring sessions with the Thomas Cup squad beginning tomorrow. However, Misbun said Hafiz will have to wait longer to join the national training again until he is convinced that the shuttler shows grit and commitment in training. "Hafiz must start all over again. He must go through all the hardships which made him the All-England champion," said Misbun. "I can include him in national training sessions immediately, but he needs to earn it again. There is no special treatment. "If I make it all too easy for him, he will not realise his mistakes. Hafiz is changing but I must make sure history does not repeat itself." Hafiz will only be included in selected sparring sessions but he needs to make full use of the opportunity if he wants to regain Misbun’s faith and make his way back into the national team.
I think it is hard for Hafiz to retain his All-England crown.He has not entered any international tournament for a long period and after All-England his form was subpar.I wonder why Malaysian players are so inconsistent.It's easy to get heart attack when you see them play.I think Malaysia's best bet is Wong Choong Han and he has been quiete consistent lately.Go Wong Choong Han!!!!
I considered it a big mistake then to let Hafiz not play in the next tournament after winning the All-England. To prove himself and mature, he had to win the next 3 or 4 consecutive tournaments or at least play in them. He let it get to his head. After all in 1966, Tan Aik Huang, the previous Malaysian All-England champion, went on to win just about every tournament that year. The next year Rudy Hartono won the All-England and won it for another 7 times (6 consecutively). During his peak, Rudy Hartono was undefeatable and won every match he played literally. Rudy had a lot of competition including Erland Kops, Punch Gunalan, Tan Aik Huang, and Svends Pri and still he beat them everytime. Hafiz should have gone on to play and if he could win 2 or 3 titles for 2003. If he could then he proved that he is top player, otherwise, his win was a fluke. If he had lost the next tournament, he would have learned character. Now it seems that his win was to a large degree a fluke. Too bad because Hafiz has considerable potential. Ron
Any good of not playing? I am glad Misbun finally allowed Hafiz to participate in AE and Swiis Opens. I don't see any good of keeping him at home as punishment for not woking hard, after all when Thomas Cup Final comes we still basically need Hafiz service. There must be a better way to motivate players then the traditional punishing method. BAM needs to be more consistent on their regulation, if Hafiz got kick out for not working hard then Tan Fook should be out of national squad for not performing under "no pressure" during TC preliminary round against Hong Kong.
So we have see the performance of Hafiz in the Swiss open, I don't think he will go far in the AE. He is not in his form.
We will have to see how he fare in the next few tourneys as he just recovered from wrist injury.. still rusty i guess from int tourney. Hope he will do well..
Give him some time So Hafiz got knocked out on round one and he should continue to work hard and pay day will come one day. Chen Hong did not do well either on his first come back during Thomas Cup preliminary but no reason to "give up" on these proven players. Hafiz did not win All England 2003 by pure luck and Misbun should continue to send Hafiz to more tournaments so he can rub off his rust. Have faith, Hafiz is a good player and I recall Choon Hann took almost a year to climb back to the top after come back from wrist injury. Han
