Hafiz eyes revenge in Birmingham

TheStar
PETALING JAYA: Boosted by his recent good run, men’s singles shuttler Mohd Hafiz Hashim will be out to end his winless streak against two formidable players in the All-England badminton tournament starting tomorrow at Birmingham’s National Indoor Arena.

The German Open runner-up may have to meet third seed Kenneth Jonassen of Denmark and top seed Lin Dan of China in his bid to reach his second final in three years in the US$125,000 tournament.

And Hafiz, who won the All-England title in 2003, is eager to play against his bogeymen.

“My performance in the German Open has raised my confidence. I beat (Lee) Chong Wei for the first time (in four meetings) and it was an achievement for me,†said Hafiz in a telephone interview from England yesterday.

At the German Open, Hafiz upset teammate Chong Wei 15-3, 15-7 in the semis but went down 8-15, 8-15 to Lin Dan in the final.

It was Hafiz’s fourth straight defeat by the 22-year-old Lin Dan. Hafiz, however, feels that he is just a whisker away from beating the Chinese.

“He (Lin Dan) is not unbeatable. Yes, he is good and his attacks are sharp and his strokes can be deceiving. But if I get a chance to meet him again I will know what to do,†said Hafiz.

Before getting the chance to meet All-England defending champion Lin Dan, Hafiz will have to be cautious in his earlier rounds.

Hafiz, 22, faces Jim Ronny Andersen of Norway in the first round. His next tough opponent is likely to be Jonassen in the third round.

Hafiz lost to Jonassen in their two previous meetings, with the latest defeat in the semi-finals of the Singapore Open in November.

“I have come a long way since winning the All-England title (in 2003). Now, I am in good form and I hope to do well and improve my world rankings ahead of the World Championships (in Los Angeles in August),†said Hafiz, who is currently ranked 18th in the world.

At last year’s All-England, Hafiz lost to Anders Boesen of Denmark in the third round.

Besides Hafiz, Malaysia will be represented by Wong Choong Hann, Kuan Beng Hong, Mohd Roslin Hashim, Lee Tsuen Seng and Sairul Amar Ayob in the men’s singles.

The All-England qualifying tournament starts today with Tan Bin Shen-Ooi Sock Ai the only Malaysians in action in the mixed doubles event.

 

We will just have to see how he fare this time in All England.