Badminton: Hope on Gan-Lin HIGH hopes are on the men's doubles shuttlers Gan Teik Chai-Lin Woon Fui to save the day for Malaysia in the SEA Games men's badminton competition. They are the only Malaysian players with a shot to prevent an Indonesian team at full strength from making a clean sweep of the three men's gold medals at stake. Despite the odds against them, Teik Chai-Woon Fui are determined to use the Games as a stepping-stone for bigger opportunities in the national team. “We have a fighting chance to win a medal and our hope is to nail the gold,” said Teik Chai, who will be making his Games debut. “Our future as a pair will depend very much on our results in the SEA Games. “If we do well, there is a better chance for us to be considered for other major tournaments like the Thomas Cup Finals. “There will also be a review of the players in the national team and we will certainly retain our place in the squad with a good showing.” If the world number 35 pair can play with consistency, they can be counted on to give the top two seeded Indonesians – reigning world champions Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan and Joko Riyadi-Hendra Gunawan – a run for their money. The Malaysians are expected to cross swords with Markis-Hendra in the semi-finals, who they came close to beating in the Macau Open quarter-finals last month. But they grew complacent in the Vietnam Open and the Malaysian International Challenge this month, losing to Chien Yu-hsun-Lin Yu-lang of Taiwan in the last eight and Mohd Razif Abdul Latif-Khoo Chung Chiat in the semi-finals respectively. Razif-Chung Chiat, who are also inconsistent, are in the lower half of the draw with Joko-Hendra and Singaporeans Hendra Wijaya-Hendri Kurniawan Saputra. “We (Woon Fui and I) know that we have a chance but sometimes, we get distracted. Hopefully, we will rise to the occasion,” said Teik Chai. The men's singles and team gold medals are as good as in Indonesian hands. Barring any upsets, Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat and Sony Dwi Kuncoro are set to make it an all-Indonesian affair in the men's singles. But Thailand's Boonsak Ponsana could spoil their party. It will be difficult for Malaysia to land even the bronze. Yeoh Kay Bin is likely to meet Taufik in the quarter-finals while the country's top back-up shuttler Tan Chun Seang is set to face Sony at the same stage. With Simon Santoso at third singles, Indonesia look invincible in the men's team competition and Malaysia can forget about retaining the title.
from the star online... BAM depend on women shuttlers to deliver their two-gold target THEY have beaten world number one Chinese players. They have made it among the top 10 ranked shuttlers in the world. And they have won gold medals at the Commonwealth Games. And at the Korat SEA Games, Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty as well as Wong Mew Choo will be out to win the women's doubles and singles titles for the second time in the biennial series. The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) are banking on Eei Hui-Pei Tty and Mew Choo to meet their two-gold target at the Games. Eei Hui-Pei Tty are the defending champions while Mew Choo was the winner in the 2003 Games in Vietnam. “I am no longer troubled by my knee injury. And my back injury is getting better. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the injuries do not act up during the Games,” said Eei Hui, who picked the back injury at the Danish Open last month. “Our best performance this year is a win over China's Zhang Yawen-Wei Yili (at the Danish Open). It has given us more confidence.” Currently ranked at number 10 in the world, Eei Hui-Pei Tty, who won the gold medal in the Melbourne Commonwealth Games last year, are likely to take on Indonesians Greysia Polii-Jo Novita in the quarter-finals at Korat. In the lower half of the draw are top seeds Li Yujia-Jiang Yanmei of Singapore, China Masters champions Vita Marissa-Lilyana Natsir of Indonesia and the Malaysian back-up squad pair of Ng Hui Lin-Goh Liu Ying. “We defeated Greysia-Novita in the final at 2005 Manila SEA Games. They will be out for revenge. It will be a close affair because the standard of all these players are about the same. It will be a great end for the year if Malaysia can win both the women's doubles and singles events,” said Eei Hui. Malaysia's top women's singles shuttler Mew Choo, who played a pivotal role to help Malaysia win the mixed team gold medal in the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, has a good chance to regain the title. The world number eight is the top seed and her first real challenge will probably be against Singapore's Li Li in the semi-finals. Second seed Maria Yulianti of Indonesia is in the other half of the draw with Singapore's Xing Aiying and Malaysia's Julia Wong. After beating China's world number one Xie Xingfang in the third round of the World Championships in Kuala Lumpur in August, Mew Choo is certainly looking good to claim the gold medal in Korat.
Only MAS are sending their backup team (Yeoh Kay Bin, Gan Teik Chai/Lin Woon Fui) for the Men's events. They still send the first team players (Wong Mew Choo and Wong Pei Tty/Chin Ee Hui) to the Women's events. All other nations (including INA, THA, SIN) are sending their first team straight to Korat after the Hong Kong Open.
Official Mascot of the 2007 Sea Games.. this is the official mascot of the 24th SEA Games 2007 at Korat (Thailand)
Sea Games 2007 Sea Games: Blow to Mew Choo MALAYSIA's hopes on Wong Mew Choo winning a gold medal in the SEA Games badminton competition has taken a severe blow. The top women's singles shuttler is down with a recurring knee injury and she has been ruled out of the team competition. And her participation in the individual event, where she is the top seed, now hangs in the balance. The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) general manager, Kenny Goh, said yesterday that the injury to Mew Choo was serious. “She is certainly out of the team event (which begins on Saturday). But we will wait for a report from the NSI (National Sports Institute) before making a decision on her participation in the individual event (next week),” he said. The 24-year-old Mew Choo aggravated the injury en route to a sensational victory at the China Open in Guangzhou last month where she chalked up victories over the world's top players three players from China – Xie Xingfang, Zhang Ning and Zhu Lin. It was her first ever win over the Olympic champion Zhang Ning and reigning world champion Zhu Lin. And she was also the only second non-China player to win the China Open women's singles title. Coach Wong Tat Meng said that the 2003 Vietnam SEA Games gold medallist was not in her best condition. “She was already playing with knee pains during the China Open. It was more painful for her after the tournament. On top of that, her toe nail had also came off,” he said. “She went on to play in the Hong Kong Open but could not give her best (she was beaten by Salakjit Ponsana of Thailand in the first round). “I wanted to gauge her condition after the Hong Kong Open. I made her run on the treadmill. She just could not cope. She could hardly put pressure on her leg. She went to see the doctors today and has been told that she needs further treatment. “This is just unfortunate. Mew Choo was really looking forward to regaining the SEA Games title. We cannot take risks as she has a more important task – the Beijing Olympics.” Without Mew Choo, Malaysia will be hard-pressed to land a badminton gold medal. It is difficult for women's top pair Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty to stamp their mark in Korat because much would depend on the former, who is recovering from back and ankle injuries. Malaysia have an under-strength men's team spearheaded by Yeoh Kay Bin. It will be an uphill task for them in the company of a full-strength Indonesia, led by Taufik Hidayat.
