[size=-1]The Star Online > Sports[/size] Wednesday July 28, 2004 [size=+2]Versatility is the key to glory[/size] BY LIM TEIK HUAT KUALA LUMPUR: Singles head coach Misbun Sidek wants the Malaysian singles badminton players to be more versatile on court, as he sees it as the key to glory in the Athens Olympics next month. With less than two weeks left, training for the Athens-bound singles players has switched to intensive on-court training sessions. For Misbun, a player will have to be versatile in order to stay ahead of his rivals in the modern game, and the situation is not any different as they bid for a medal from Aug 14-21. World Championships finalist Wong Choong Hann and Malaysian Open champion Lee Chong Wei were asked to go through match play situations at the Stadium Juara in Bukit Kiara from Monday. The third Malaysian singles player to qualify is Roslin Hashim. “The physical training is already over and I am very happy with their condition going into the Olympics. “Their fitness level has to be up to the mark to go through these sessions.†Misbun said the objective is for the shuttlers to be ready to face anyone. “Different players have different styles. They have to know how to adapt quickly and recover from any situation. “Because the draw is not out yet, the present preparations are the best for the players. “They have to know how to adapt quickly. Our players have often faltered in crucial stages in the past because they found themselves stumped playing against rivals who suddenly switched tactics.†Choong Hann, who will be making his second successive appearance in the Olympics, feels it is a good idea to concentrate on match-play training situations. “The training gets the player to be more alert. One builds up adrenalin faster in these situations because you have to face any situation that your rival might possible come up with,†said Choong Hann, who was a quarter-finalist in Sydney four years ago. Choong Hann is the only seeded Malaysian for the singles competition. He is seeded third behind two Chinese shuttlers – world number one Lin Dan and Chen Hong. There are heavy expectations on the Malaysian shuttlers to come back with a medal from their Olympics. The other qualifiers in badminton are the men's doubles pair of Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah and Chan Chong Ming-Chew Choon Eng. Tan Fook-Wan Wah, who won the Malaysian Open title early this month, is the fourth seeded pair. Wong Pei Tty-Chin Eei Hui is the only women's doubles representative for Athens. The badminton players leave for Athens on Aug 8.
