Malaysia will take part in tournament at Olympic venue By LIM TEIK HUAT the staronline PETALING JAYA: Malaysia will have an early chance to check out the playing conditions at the venue of the 2008 Olympic badminton competition but they are may be limited to either a singles player or a doubles pair. The China Badminton Association (CBA) announced yesterday that they would be hosting an international invitational event as a test run for the Beijing Games. The event will be called the Good Luck Beijing 2007 International Badminton Invitational and will be held from Oct 10-14. The men’s and women’s singles will be limited to a draw of 38 each while the three doubles events will feature 16 pairs each. If an entry is withdrawn, the place would go to China. Medals will be awarded to the top three finishers and there will be a playoff for the bronze. But more importantly, those invited will get a feel of the conditions at the Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium, the Games’ badminton venue. National chief coach Yap Kim Hock said that Malaysia would definitely be represented. “We will take part because this is an Olympic test event and we do not want to miss out on a chance to check out the playing conditions. But we have to wait to see how many entries they will accept,” he said. “Apparently, they also want each country to sent only one coach. We will consider sending the on-form player to the tournament.” Top men's singles player Lee Chong Wei has a strong chance to represent Malaysia. For a double representation, Malaysia can choose from the men's pairs of All-England champions Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong, Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah or Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Latif. The Olympic test event will be the third international badminton competition hosted by China this year. They have two Super Series events on their calendar – the China Masters in Chengdu (July 20-25) and the China Open in Guangzhou (Nov 20-25).
