TheStar PETALING JAYA: Malaysia will name two men's singles for their challenge in the Sudirman Cup world mixed team championships and senior shuttler Wong Choong Hann is unlikely to be one of them. The championships will be played in Beijing from May 10-15 and Malaysia will be making a bid to gain promotion to Division One. The playoff for promotion to Division One involves the winners of the two-group Division Two. Malaysia have been drawn in Group A of Division Two, which has Holland Taiwan and Russia. National chief coach Yap Kim Hock will name five men and five women in the team – two singles and three doubles players each. There are three contenders for the men's singles slot. Besides Choong Hann, the others are Lee Chong Wei and Mohd Hafiz Hashim. The 28-year-old Choong Hann is now ranked seventh in the world – two rungs higher than Hafiz. But Hafiz has achieved better results in recent tournaments. In the local tournaments last year, Choong Hann has also not got the better of either Hafiz or Chong Wei. The former national number one played in two international tournaments this year and was the semi-finalist at the German Open and All-England. The 23-year-old Chong Wei, who is currently ranked sixth in the world, was also a semi-finalist in both the tournaments. Hafiz played in one tournament more and won the Swiss Open. He was the runner-up in the German Open. The team will be finalised after the Japan Open next week. Malaysia shuttlers are also involved in the Thai Open, which begins tomorrow. “We want the best players to represent the country in the Sudirman Cup. Of course, some players still have the chance to prove themselves and we will look at their current performances,†said Kim Hock. Hafiz will be action in both the Thai and Japan Open. Chong Wei and Choong Hann will only feature in the Japan Open. In the Thai Open, Hafiz is the third seed. The top seeds are Kenneth Jonassen of Denmark and Xia Xuanze of China. Besides Hafiz, the other singles players for the Thai Open are Yeoh Kay Bin, Lee Tsuen Seng, Kuan Beng Hong, Mohd Hazwan Jamaluddin and K. Yogendran. They left for Bangkok yesterday.
WCH is most likely out already at the rate he's going. He seems to have lost his edge over the rest of the players. LCW is performing quite well as Hafiz even though he claims to have not adjusted to Li Mao's training regime yet... wonder what will happen if he does
Too bad for WCH, as he is the type of consistent player you need in theses type of event. I am not sure whether WCH can benefit greatly from Li Mao, since he has a fast, powerful game already. LCW and Hafiz do not, so should be able to benefit more.
Wonder why Yap Kim Hock fix such a rigid rule of 2 singles and 3 doubles players. For MS, quite clear that Lee CW and Hafiz Hashim will go, unless Hafiz opted out due to monetary issue (NO reward for Sudirman Cup, as far as Malaysia is concerned). MD - Koo KK is a sure bet due to his expertise in XD event. Question is should BAM pick Chan CM to partner Koo, and name another MD player as back up,... or pick another pair with Koo as back-up MD player? WS - Wong Mew Choo is a sure bet as well. But why keep a place for 2nd WS player?? The 2nd player if fielded (in case, Wong MS injured) will lose anyway to any Division 2 WS player... imagine the likes of Yao Jie, Mia Audina, Kanako Yonekura, Hirose, etc... 1 ticket wasted!! WD - Wong/Chin are everybody's pick! One odd WD ticket .. who should go? Big headache for Cheah Soon Kit! So, if you were the chief coach who will you pick? And will you stick to Yap Kim Hock's rule?
Actually, no. If he's a master tactician then he should just pick the best winning combo. The one you've suggested is quite a solid one. But I reckon for MD, some youngsters might go in and do some pwnage instead of the old timers on the training squad...
Let me start with my personal pick. Note: I will go AGAINST Yap Kim Hock's ruling. MS - Lee CW, Hafiz Hashim MD - Tan Bin Shen/Ong Soon Hock, Koo Kien Kiat WS - Wong Mew Choo WD - Wong Pei Tty/Chin Eei Hui, Mooi Hing Yau/Ooi Sook Ai Reasons: MS - For apparent reasons, the best 2 players at the moment should go. MD - Will Choong/Chew or Chan/Koo be able to guarantee a point is all matches? The 2005 Japan Open disaster has given the answer (Chan/Koo lost to 4th ranked Danish pair, while Choong/Chew was bundled out by a mid-ranked pair from Hong Kong). So, why not give the younger pair a chance? Since Ong Soon Hock was formally paired with Koo KK in junior level, Tan/Ong combination is a smarter choice compared to Lin/Tazari. WS - I see no need to pick a second WS player who will be losing anyway! WD - Picking Mooi/Ooi (currently world no 21) will be a wiser decision, rather than picking a second WS player and one reserve WD player. And I believe Cheah Soon Kit is working on bringing up a second WD pair for Malaysia and such decision will serve a good compliment to Cheah's effort.
Yap Kim Hock's decision The Star Online > Sports Tuesday April 12, 2005 Heavy task for Chong Wei By LIM TEIK HUAT PETALING JAYA: Top singles player Lee Chong Wei has been thrust into an unfamiliar role. He has been named to lead the country's challenge for the Sudirman Cup in Beijing from May 10 to 15 for the first time. But he is relishing the challenge of playing in the world mixed team competition next month. National chief coach Yap Kim Hock served no surprises when he named a strong and experienced 10-member squad for the Sudirman Cup yesterday. Chong Wei and Mohd Hafiz Hashim, who won back-to-back tournaments in the Swiss and Thailand Opens recently, are the two men's singles players selected. Seasoned campaigners Choong Tan Fook and Chan Chong Ming will helm the men's doubles challenge with Koo Kien Keat, who is expected to feature in the mixed doubles. Wong Mew Choo and Julia Wong, who are from the 2010 back-up project under Rashid Sidek, were named for the women's singles. Top pair Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty will shoulder the women's doubles challenge with Fong Chew Yen. Chong Wei may be making his debut in the Sudirman Cup next month but he will shoulder a big responsibility. The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) had earlier announced their target of aiming to get back to the top tier of the competition. The playoff for promotion to Division One involves the winners of the two-group Division Two. Malaysia, who last played in Division One in 1999, have Holland, Taiwan and Russia in Group A in Division Two. Group B of Division Two comprises Japan, Singapore, Germany and Ukraine. And an excited Chong Wei, who just returned from the Japan Open early yesterday, said he hopes to live up to expectations. This is the first time I will be playing in the Sudirman Cup. In fact, it is the first time I will lead the national team for a major team competition. I am aware that BAM are placing priority on the Sudirman Cup this time and hope to gain promotion to Division One. I hope to win all the matches that I am going to play over there, said Chong Wei. The experience gained in playing in a team competition of this nature will be good for Chong Wei ahead of the Manila SEA Games in November and the Thomas Cup campaign next year. The Penang-born player has taken over as the new national number one late last year and is currently enjoying a career high world ranking at sixth position. Chong Wei featured in the Thomas Cup Finals in Jakarta last year but only in two easy group ties against Thailand and South Africa.