Let's start a new thread (if mod is OK) for Hafiz Hashim on his new chapter after leaving BAM... and now he is sponsored by Li Ning
http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/39ajithafiz/Article Badminton / Swiss Open: Hafiz skims through in Basel HAFIZ Hashim began his career as an independent player by cruising into the second round of the Swiss Open in Basel on Tuesday. The World No 26 hardly broke sweat in his 21-10, 21-16 victory over Czech Republic's Pavel Florian in 25 minutes. Hafiz is now competing under the KLRC banner after quitting the national squad last month. The former All England champion is hoping that a good run in tournaments from now till April will earn him a spot in the London World Championships in August. Hafiz played Ireland's Scott Evans in a late second round match yesterday.
He's joined KLRC (Kuala Lumpur Racket Club). But from last week on All England championship, I saw the Russian female player also wearing the KLRC shirt..I tot that's only for Malaysian players...
Pablo ABIAN (ESP) beat Muhammad Hafiz HASHIM [9] (MAS): 21-11 21-14 (27min) This is embarrassing... a bit humiliation so to speak...
What new chapter are you expecting on HH? Whats the difference being sponsored by YY or Li Ning...LOL
http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2011/3/18/sports/8296808&sec=sports Hafiz crashes to tame defeat by Spaniard PETALING JAYA: Shuttler Mohd Hafiz Hashim will certainly want to forget his outing in the Swiss Open in Basel. The 29-year-old Hafiz, who left the Badminton Association of Malaysia’s (BAM) stable to join the KL Rackets Club (KLRC) recently, crashed to a tame defeat by Pablo Abian of Spain yesterday. He was beaten 11-21, 14-21 in a third-round match. It was the second straight-game victory for Abian over a Malaysian shuttler. He defeated Chong Wei Feng 21-19, 21-11 in the second round on Wednesday.
HH to play in NZ & Australia as reported in NST on 30/03/2011 LEE Chong Wei will make a return to the circuit at the India Open Super Series in New Delhi on April 26- May 1. Chong Wei, the top seed, should have an easy ride in the absence of China's shuttlers to secure his ninth title since last June. The World No 1, recent winner of the All England men's singles title, is determined to continue with his winning run in India to boost his confidence in the bid to win the men's singles title at the London World Championships in August. Chong Wei's main rivals in the India Open are expected to be Indonesia's World No 3 Taufik Hidayat, Simon Santoso, Sony Dwi Kuncoro and Japan's Kenichi Tago. There is also a possibility that Misbun Sidek will return to guide Chong Wei before the start of the tournament. The BA of Malaysia will make it known on Friday whether Misbun, who resigned on Dec 31, will accept its offer to coach the national elite squad again. Misbun's return will definitely give Chong Wei added motivation in upcoming tournaments, especially in the World Championships. Meanwhile, Hafiz Hashim, now an independent shuttler, is desperate to gain ranking points to qualify for the World Championships. The former All England champion will have a chance to do so in the New Zealand Open, which starts today, and the Australian Open, scheduled for April 5-10, in Melbourne. Hafiz, who has not won a title since the 2006 Philippines Open, is determined to give a good account of himself after an embarrassing loss to unknown Spaniard Pablo Abian in the last-16 of the recent Swiss Open. "The Swiss Open could have been a turning point for my career. Fever slowed me down when I played Abian. I want to redeem my pride in both tournaments," said Hafiz yesterday. "On paper, I should be able to do well in the New Zealand Open. My target in Auckland is to at least reach the final. It is slightly tough in the Australian Open as many top shuttlers have also registered for the event." The World No 33 is the third highest ranked Malaysian in the BWF men's singles rankings, but needs to be among the 24 highest ranked players in the world to secure a guaranteed spot in the World Championships. ********************************************************************************************************* I wish HH well in the two tournaments that he will play in. This will be good for him and his sponsors and guarantee his longevity in the sport of badminton. Hopefully he will not repeat the Swiss tournament fiasco and other tournaments where he plays well in one match and collapses in the next, to unknown players. Compared to Uncle WCH, HH is readily subject to mood swings and his trainer has to work on this aspect of his personality.
"On paper, I should be able to do well in the New Zealand Open. My target in Auckland is to at least reach the final. It is slightly tough in the Australian Open as many top shuttlers have also registered for the event." ================================================================== No disrespect to both tournaments, but it's kind of demoralized to hear Habiz has to redeem himself in NON-SS tourneys... Again, who will think he can deliver?
http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/osdoihjzsobi/Article Make-or-break situation for Hafiz HAFIZ Hashim needs to win the ongoing New Zealand International Challenge in Auckland and make at least the semi-finals of the Australian Open next week if he wants to improve his chances of qualifying for the World Championships. Hafiz, currently ranked World No 33, must break into the top 24 by the end of April but good results are needed in order to make the cut. Andre Kurniawan Tedjono of Indonesia should provide Hafiz with an early test in Auckland while Hu Yun of Hong Kong will be pushing the Malaysian hard in an expected semi-final clash. Should Hafiz make it to the final, he is likely to face Indonesia's Tommy Sugiarto in the final. National back-up shuttlers Goh Soon Huat, Arif Latif and Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin have no opportunity to qualify for the World Championships as they are out of the top 100. Soon Huat plays Brent Miller of New Zealand, Arif takes on third seed Wong Wing Ki of Hong Kong while Iskandar is up against Tommy in first round matches today. Hafiz will face a tougher passage in the Australian Open in Melbourne where a host of Japanese shuttlers will aiming for his scalp. Hafiz opens his campaign against Kazuteru Kozai of Japan and is likely to meet Andre Kurniawan again in the second round and victory will pit him against another difficult opponent in Sho Sasaki, also from Japan, in the third round. A win will most likely see him playing Alamsyah Yunus of Indonesia and second seed Nguyen Tien Minh could be his semi-final opponent.