Chong Wei suffers third defeat by Lin Dan this year MACAU: Malaysia's world number one Lee Chong Wei staged a great fight but it was not good enough to get the better of China's Lin Dan in the men's singles final of the US$120,000 Macau Open badminton championships at the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion yesterday. The top seeded Chong Wei toiled for more than an hour in his 18-21, 21-18, 18-21 defeat by the second seed. With the defeat, Chong Wei, who had eliminated China's Bao Chunlai and Chen Hong in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively, again failed to achieve his best-ever results outside Malaysia. He was the champion in the 2004 Taiwan Open, 2005 Denmark Open, this year's Swiss Open, Melbourne Commonwealth Games and the Asian Championships but these results were achieved in the absence of the top Chinese players. The result yesterday was Chong Wei's third defeat by Lin Dan in four meetings this year. Except for a win over Lin Dan that gave Chong Wei the Malaysian Open title for the third time in June, the Malaysian was the loser in the All-England semi-finals and the Taiwan Open final. “I could have beaten him today if only I was more focused in the closing stages of the match,” lamented Chong Wei. “Of all the players, Lin Dan is the player I cherish to beat but unfortunately it did not happen today. It was so close.” The two players fought neck-and-neck in all three games yesterday. In the rubber game, Chong Wei held a 7-3 lead but made unforced errors to allow the Chinese to get back into the game. The score was tied at 14-14 before the Chinese pulled away. Displaying delicate shot, excellent net play and jumping smashes, he romped home the winner. “There was strong draught and I did not have the better control of the shots. But that is not an excuse. Lin Dan played well in front of the net and he was steadier,” said Chong Wei. The consolation for Chong Wei was the knowledge that he definitely has it in him to beat Lin Dan. “Of all the defeats against Lin Dan, this is the closest one. I was able to return some of his exceptionally good shots. There were long rallies too,” said Chong Wei. “I may lose my world number one ranking with the defeat today. But I do not want to be too worried about it. My coach (Li Mao) was not too upset. He said it was a good game and said I can do better the next time. “I will be ready to face Lin Dan again. The main goal is the World Championships (in Madrid from Sept 18-24).” For his efforts yesterday, Chong Wei pocketed US$4,800. National coach Misbun Sidek said: “Both played very well. They showed that they are the top two players in the world today. Lin Dan, however, proved yet again that he holds a slight edge over Chong Wei because tactically, he is still the better player.” Holland's Judith Meulendijiks finally won her first Open title with a hard-fought 18-21, 21-10, 21-11 win over Hong Kong's Yip Pui Yin yesterday. En route to her biggest breakthrough in her career, Meulendijiks had eliminated world number one Zhang Ning of China and Wang Chen of Hong Kong. It was also a first for the Danish mixed doubles pair of Thomas Laybourn-Kamilla Rytter Juhl, scoring a stunning 21-19, 22-20 win over the fancied Zhang Jun-Gao Ling of China in the final.
Dear MalaysianFan I like your writting style. How's the weather in Macau at the moment and was it great to interview Lee Chong Wei & Misbun Sidek face to face??? The Borneon BaddyNut
seems like LCW loses by his unforced error, but keep one thing in mind, unforced error is due from skill and mentality too, great game and great play, its best to have top seeds beating each other every run as this would make the game more exciting! go asia
the thing i like about lcw is that, he never find excuses with himself and admits where he goes wrong and finds the way to 'cure' his own mistakes.. he is one whom you can say is very positive attitude in life and can tell that he looks on the bright side of life. people who are able to do this will eventually improved further and has a stronger mentally than others.
Good point. I subscribe to that. However, a few other players also have that trait but at the same did not perform as well as LCW --- e.g. KBH. Maybe it is more than that, perhaps a bit of street-smartness (that I think LCW has).
LCW lose too many points at the net. Lindan played well actually. Even LCW lost.. he is happy with the results coz he know this time he lost to a better player.
Totally agree, learn from mistakes, and brave to admit the mistakes. Not a lot of people have the courage to do that.
Its usually not the players but the irrational fans. I believe most players are mature enough to learn from mistakes.
I feel that Chong Wei did pretty well this time.He was able to stretch Lin Dan to the hilt.In certain stretches of the game,you could see that Lin Dan was flabbergasted that chongwei is such a tough nut to crack.Lin Dan won this game cos his net play was simply awesome.It would indeed be exciting for chongwei to turn the tables against lindan in their next encounter.Should that happen outside Malaysia,it would definitely make him a true No 1 World Ranking Player.
most of lin dan's full power jump smashes lcw was able to return and even return it to another direction.. this is one of the first time i see all the players receiving their prizes and medals happily. guess they are all in good mood and the good atmosphere at macau. both lin dan and lcw show good sportmanship.. haha the music is also nicee..
You mean the music they played when they led the players to the court. Yes, I also like that music .... the Chinese have been using this sports marching music since the 1960s and hope they'll use it in 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Do you think we are finding excuses for CW???I am CW fans but i am not blindly support him juz because of he is Malaysian....I really feel that he is good...After seeing some post that says the Malaysian always find excuses whenever CW is loss but i think our intention is just want to encourage him...Do you think that we are wrong???Some people post says that we are too blindly support LCW until causing his continuesly fail to LD...Is this true...I do no which is true but i just feel like supporting him...
Yes, i'm truly agree what jessica said. We could learn from this thread somehow. The fact is the same. Some portion of people would say the player(not to mentioned the name) had so many excuses and do not admit their own mistakes but take it the other way round. We find many excuses for LCW's loss and we never admit he is defeated because we are malaysians who support him. Do we have differences with the kind of player's mentality out there?
Haha, dont get offended ooi!! i dont mean blaming all of you. just want us to realized this somehow. relax ^^
Win now In a way, we should not find excuses for Chong Wei, including head coaches like Misbun and Yap and Li Mau. Imagine if LCW had beaten Lin Dan, will Li Yongbo eccept that just because the opponent had played better? Obviously not! I think Malaysia coaches should encourage Chong Wei but at same time should pressure him to realise the importance of winning ... If Lee Chong Wei think he lost because Lin Dan played well then the only chance he can win is Lin Dan not playing well, not a good way to earn your win(low possiblity). I like to see Chong Wei continous improvement but time is running out and can't just target for WC as everyone is gearing up for that, win now and build the confidence of the champion.
U did not understand my statements. U are not blaming us --- it is good to be one-eyed -- i.e. Malaysia Boleh saja !
LCW's coach, Li Mao, was extremely understanding this time --- he comforted LCW after the loss, telling LCW he did well. LCW acknowledged the crowd after the loss and applauded LD for the win -- so he knew he played well even though it was a loss. I, as the fan, thought he did very well this time and was not disappointed at all --- it seems to me like he is getting closer (his defense is excellent and improved greatly). He just needs to be careful with his returns (especially in the 3rd where he gave many shots away - a couple into the net). I think I speak for all Malaysians --- they are happy with the loss and know that the next time, LCW might overtake LD. So all LCW fans are looking forward to the World Championship.
LCW- Keep it Up Well said X-ball. Its not the end for LCW but a means to greatness through his close lossess and valuable lessons learnt thus far and he's only 22. How many 22 year olds could be No.1. No question he has our support and admiration and the respect of top players around the globe. Assessing closely the MO final, i feel the game could have gone either way. Neither player could show complete dominance over the other. LD won because he was able to muster enough courage and mental strength to put in 110% and all he's got into game 3. I am not dissapointed that LCW lost but proud M'sia could produce a talent like him and make Asians proud.
