TheStar KUALA LUMPUR: After two quiet months, shuttler Mohd Hafiz Hashim is expected to make a roaring comeback in a bid to secure a top-four seeding in the World Championships in August. National singles coach Misbun Sidek has been putting Hafiz under intense training to prepare for the back-to-back Opens in Singapore (June 27-July 3) and Malaysia (July 5-10). The seedings for the world meet will be based on the world rankings after these two Open tournaments. Currently, the lanky Hafiz is ranked sixth in the world. And Misbun said it would an achievement for Hafiz to break into the top four prior to the world meet. “He is doing better in training. For now, I am not worried about his knee problem,” said Misbun. The 2003 All-England champion Hafiz showed he was back in the reckoning when he won back-to-back titles in Thailand and Switzerland early this year. But a knee injury forced him to concede a walkover in the Japan Open in April. He was selected to represent Malaysia in the Sudirman Cup – world mixed team event – last month in Beijing but he played only one match, in the tie against Russia. Misbun said a good showing in the Singapore and Malaysian Opens would help Hafiz moves up the ladder in the world rankings. “I am getting Hafiz to be more stable with his game. His anticipation is not perfect yet.” Besides Hafiz, two other players, Kuan Beng Hong and Mohd Roslin Hashim are also training under Misbun. Beng Hong and Roslin are ranked 12th and 28th respectively. “I am happy that Beng Hong’s world ranking has improved. With more focus on him, Beng Hong will be able to move up. I am happy with Roslin’s commitment in training too. He has been a good sparring partner for the two other players,” said Misbun. Out of the three under Misbun, only Hafiz will be representing Malaysia in the world meet which will be held in California. The other Malaysian singles player selected for the world meet are Lee Chong Wei and Wong Choong Hann, who are training under Chinese coach Li Mao. Currently, Chong Wei and Choong Hann are ranked 4th and 11th in the world. If Hafiz and Chong Wei can make the top four in the world, Malaysia will have two top-four seeds in the men's singles at the world meet for the first time.
