Chong Wei, Hafiz out to woo the fans By RAJES PAUL star online KUALA LUMPUR: Seven years ago, Lee Chong Wei and Mohd Hafiz Hashim were at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil as juniors cheering on the Malaysian team in the Thomas Cup Finals. And they saw the outrage of the fans over the under par performances by the Malaysian team in a 2-3 defeat by South Korea in their final group tie. The defeat put Malaysia out of the semi-finals. Chong Wei and Hafiz will certainly not want to face the wrath of the fans when they play in the World Championships, which begin on Monday at the stadium with a capacity for 15,000 spectators. The tournament is only the second major badminton event staged at the Putra Stadium after the 2000 Thomas Cup Finals. “I remember that time. I just got into the national back-up squad and was in the stands supporting the Malaysian team,” said the 25-year-old Chong Wei. “Malaysia did not play well. The fans booed at the players and some even asked the BAM president (Datuk Dr Abdullah Fadzil Che Wan) to step down. I certainly do not want the fans to turn against me or any of my teammates.” The second seeded Chong Wei is looking forward to enjoying tremendous crowd support in his bid to become the world champion. Malaysia have yet to produce a winner in the series. “The world championships will be played at home for the first time. I want to win over the fans and promise to give them their money's worth. Of course, I want to win but even if I lose, I want the crowd to know that I had given my best. I will fight all the way,” he said. Chong Wei has a favourable draw and he has Indonesian Sony Dwi Kuncoro, Dane Peter Gade-Christensen and Chinese Chen Yu and Chen Jin in his half. “There will be no easy match. Sony will be my first big challenge (expected to meet in the third round). I will be prepared to face him,” said Chong Wei. Based on the past performances and tough draw, Hafiz will find the going more difficult but he is determined to stamp his mark. Hafiz, who suffered a demoralising defeat by unheralded Russian Stanislav Pukhov in second round of the Philippines Open, is expected to take on Indonesian Taufik Hidayat, who became a proud father of baby girl Natarina Alika Hidayat on Friday. “I may meet Taufik in the third round and the odds are against me. I have never played against Taufik under the 21-point best-of-three-game format. “I know that many have given up hope on me but I promise to give my best,” said Hafiz. Hafiz's best effort in the world championships was a quarter-final appearance in Madrid last year while Chong Wei was a semi-finalist in the 2005 edition in Anaheim.
Misbun’s charges show steely determination to succeed star online KUALA LUMPUR: The morning training session for the men's singles players was scheduled to begin at 8am but Lee Chong Wei was on court at the Putra Stadium about an hour earlier. And Mohd Hafiz Hashim was also an early bird for the first day of training at the competition venue for the World Championships. Coach Misbun Sidek was delighted to note the positive attitude to training from his charges. “They are competing with me. I always wait for them well ahead of schedule. “They are showing determination to do well and I am pleased with this attitude.” He hoped the players would take this attitude into the tournament. “I hope they will also go the extra mile in competition,” said Misbun. Misbun has higher expectations on Chong Wei than Hafiz. “Hafiz is free from injury and the body is lighter but Chong Wei is still faster than him on the court,” he said. “Hafiz has showed his determination in training but I am still not raising my expectations on him. “Let him prove that I am wrong by doing well in the world championships.”
