TheStar Nov 21 2005 PETALING JAYA: Lee Chong Wei captured two international titles this year while Mohd Hafiz Hashim bagged three. And the top two players in the country will be out to create history in the Manila SEA Games by making it an all-Malaysian men's singles final for the first time in the series. In the absence of world and Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia from the individual event, Chong Wei is the top seed and Hafiz the second. The real test for Malaysian and Danish Open champion Chong Wei begins in the semi-finals where he is expected to play against either Thailand's Boonsak Ponsana or Indonesia's Simon Santoso. ON COLLISION COURSE: Top seed Lee Chong Wei and second seed Mohd Hafiz Hashim is slated to meet in the final of the men’s singles event. “I am now ranked second in the world but I cannot afford to underrate any player in the SEA Games,” said Chong Wei, who will be making his debut in the SEA Games individual competition. “I have not played against either Boonsak or Simon before. They are players with the ability to rise to the occasion. I will give my best and try to secure a place in the final.” The path to the final looks tougher for Hafiz. He is expected to meet defending champion Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia in the semi-finals. “I have a tougher draw than Chong Wei. Sony is a player who does well in the Asian tournaments and I expect it to be tough against him,” said Hafiz, who emerged as the champion of the Open tournaments in Switzerland, Thailand and Holland. “But I am determined to go all the way to the final. Hopefully, my knee injury will not pose any problem.” Sony is a three-time Asian champion – winning the title in 2002, 2003 and 2005. He finished as the runner-up to Taufik in the 2004 championships. While national glory comes first for Chong Wei and Hafiz, both admitted that they treat each other as rivals. The 23-year-old Chong Wei said that having Hafiz breathing down his neck had pushed him to improve. “I was trying to narrow the gap when Hafiz won the All-England title (in 2003). But now, he is trying to catch up. This is good as it keeps us both on our toes,” he said. “If not for the injury that forced him out of a few tournaments, I am sure Hafiz would have given stronger performances.” For world number seven Hafiz, the SEA Games will be the last shot for him this year to get the better of Chong Wei. He did not qualify for the National Grand Prix Finals, which will be played in Kota Kinabalu from Dec 12-15 and Chong Wei will have a smoother path to claim his fourth consecutive national crown. “Except for the win in the German Open (semi-finals), I have not beaten Chong Wei. If I am to reach the final and meet him, I will go all out to win the gold,” said Hafiz. Hafiz lost to Chong Wei in the Danish Open final last month. On the local scene, Hafiz has not beaten the two-time Malaysian Open champion Chong Wei for the last two years. For the record, the last Malaysian to win the men's singles gold medal was Hafiz’s brother, Mohd Roslin, in the 2001 KL Games.
