TheStar PETALING JAYA: After five months in charge of the men's singles players, Chinese coach Li Mao is most impressed with the smashing ability of national number one Lee Chong Wei. And Li Mao thinks Chong Wei will be in top form for the World Championships, which will be held in the United States in August. Prior to the world meet, Chong Wei will be able to display his attacking skills in the Singapore Open (June 27-July 3) and Malaysian Open (July 5-10). Li Mao agreed that it took the 23-year-old Chong Wei a while to get adjusted to his coaching style. “I am focusing on his skills. Some of them need to be improved. My goal is to get him ready for the world meet and I am not interested in how he fares in the Open tournaments,” said Li Mao. In the last four Open tournaments under Li Mao's charge, Chong Wei reached the semi-finals of the German Open, All-England and lost in the quarter-finals of the Japan Open last month. He was also a member of the team who took Malaysia to Division One of the Sudirman Cup world mixed team championships in Beijing last month. “I am happy with Chong Wei's condition in training now. We are working on sharpening his skills. For now, the one improvement that I am pleased with is his smash. There is more power in it,” said Li Mao. On whether he has set any targets for Chong Wei, Li Mao said: “I do not like setting targets for my players. “I want Chong Wei to do well in the world meet and I will be more than happy if he shows commitment in training. That's all I ask.” Chong Wei is currently ranked a career best fourth in the world. Besides Chong Wei, the other men's singles players under Li Mao's charge are Wong Choong Hann, Yeoh Kay Bin, Lee Tsuen Seng, K. Yogendran and James Chua. Chong Wei and Choong Hann have qualified for the world meet together with two others who are under the charge of Misbun Sidek – Mohd Hafiz Hashim and Kuan Beng Hong. While Chong Wei and Hafiz are assured of their places, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) will name on Tuesday either Choong Hann or Beng Hong as their third entry.
