Don't know how much control Yap has over those two players, they are affiliated under Nusa Mahsuri, and are not directly under BAM. But good suggestion from you. Just hope BAM/Nusa Mahsuri scenario does not bring Malaysia down in the end, it used to be strong before mid-90s. How else did Malaysia win Thomas Cup 1992 with bare minimum world class players and no capable reserve (even 3rd singles was a giveaway point). Before that in 1976, 1988 & 1990 they reached the final despite having only one world class doubles pair. If you look at INA and CHN, in the years they won the Thomas Cup title, their reserves squad could by itself be good enough to mount strong challenge.
Mebbe coach Li Yongbo want to put them at 2nd doubles for Thomas Cup, and let Guo Zhendong/Xie Zhongbo take 1st doubles slot. Guo/Xie looks promising, they beat both Chan/Koo and Choong/Lee last year. In Thomas Cup year, there are always tactical changes. Hey, maybe Indons are doing the same for Chandra/Sigit. When the chips are down, say 1-2 after three matches, you need players who can soak pressure to rescue the tie. Like what Choong/Lee did for Malaysia in the SEA Games Men's Team final, and Lee was playing with injury.
BTW, what does it mean by "retire" ? I saw the score Koo/Chan lost today at 0-10 (retired). Did one of them get injured ?
poor boonsak, so close Chinese poised for badminton bonanza Thu 19 Jan, 10:25 PM BIRMINGHAM (Reuters) - China looked set for another All England badminton bonanza after sweeping through third round action on Thursday. The Chinese won four of the five titles in 2005 and dominate Friday's quarter-finals line-ups. In the men's singles, holder Chen Hong beat Malaysia's Yeoh Kay Bin 15-11 15-11 and top seed Lin Dan brushed aside Bin's compatriot Wong Choong Hann 15-6 15-5. There was a bonus when unseeded Chen Jin, twice a world junior champion, ousted Thailand's Boonsak Ponsana 17-14 17-14. Chen Jin now meets European hope Peter Gade of Denmark, the 1999 champion who claimed his last eight slot with a 15-8 15-5 success over Hong Kong's Ng Wei. It was a similar Chinese story in the women's singles where world number one Zhang Ning and defending champion Xie Xingfang both negotiated two rounds on an action-packed day featuring 88 matches spread over 14 hours and six courts. When the dust settled, Asia, headed by the Chinese, looked well placed to battle for the honours on finals day on Sunday. Home hopes lay again with Athens Olympics mixed doubles silver medallists Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms, title winners here in 2005. The English pair remain on course for a final with China's Gao Ling and Zhang Jun, the Chinese who pipped them for gold in Athens. There was a sad signoff for another English doubles specialist Simon Archer who lost in the men's event with David Lindley, beaten 11-15 15-13 15-9 by Indonesian fourth-seeds Luluk Hadiyanto and Alvent Julianto. Archer, 31, set to retire from international badminton at the end of the year, kept the door narrowly open for a 2007 return to Birmingham encouraged that a troublesome knee had held up well to recent intense competition. He told reporters: "It's 95 percent certain that I won't be there but I have not ruled anything out and I will make up my mind after the world championships in Madrid in September." Archer won the mixed title here with Jo Goode in 1999 and the pair went on take bronze at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
I must say that the Malaysian MD pairs have impressed so far, with 3 pairs making the QF. They might have filled up half the available QF slots had Chan Chong Ming (seeded 7 with KKK) not been forced to retire through injury in their match against unseeded Jung and Lee of Korea. Congrats and I think their Indonesian coach, Ricky, must have been doing a great job in such a relatively short time! Lee Wan Wah again showed that he can't be written off so fast when he and old time partner, Choong Tan Fook, eliminated favourites, No.1 seed, Sigit & Candra in 3 games. It was a mistake not to have seeded Lee and Choong as this resulted in the poor Indon pair having to face them in just R2, their first match. The Indon's unfortunate tearful exit has much to do with Ricky, who must have given the Malaysian pair helpful tips in ousting the Indons so soon in the tourney. To make matters worse, unseeded young Malaysians, Lin and Tazari, created the greatest upset by handing China's best doubles pair of Cai and Fu the most humiliating defeat with a score of 15-3 and 15-6. It appears that Fu's famous big smash was not allowed to be brought into play. And to round up the most unexpected of the many upsets, Mohd Zakry and Gan Teik Chai fought out a successful long battle with 8th seed, JR and Peter Steffensen in over an hour! Malaysian chief coach, Yap Kim Hock, will have the unenviable but happy task of deciding which pair to choose for the Thomas Cup challenge against China and Indonesia. And if Lee Chong Wei should prevail over Chen Hong today in the QF, then Chong Wei can prove his worth in the SF against Lin Dan. If another upset takes place, Malaysia will suddenly be a force to reckon with in the quest for the Thomas Cup. All the other countries will have to look up to Malaysia. What a change of fortunes for Malaysia and if Malaysia can maintain the momentum, this will make the international badminton scene much more interesting! Then the TC will not be a walkover for China as many have predicted. I hope Malaysia will do well in this AE to change the order of things.
Yes, Malaysia have definitely made a break through with their doubles. Much as I hope for Eriksen and Lundgaard to pull it off G
First of all, it is Rexy, not Ricky. Ricky was Rexy's partner during their days. Choong/Lee were always going to threaten anyone anyway. Practically in everyone's mind, they are the current Malaysian No 1 pair, and of course Malaysian No 1's are never fairies I don't agree that they should be seeded. We cannot just seed anybody arbitrarily. There are regulations pertaining to that. However, I think they should seed the top 16 and not just the top 8.
Thanks, I always confused Rexy with his partner Ricky, whom I have enjoyed watching for a long time. I can't forget Ricky who perhaps possessed arguably the most 'lightning' serve amongst the pros. It's a pity that Rexy is not coaching Indonesia. Of course Singapore would love to have him too, I'm sure, but at the appropriate time, since we just don't have enough talent material for Rexy to work on.
It was a stroke of genius on the part of the BAM to pick up Rexy. At that time he was still contracted with the BAofE but Rexy wanted to be closer to home and I guess the $$$ must have made sense to him. Speaking of Indo coaches, SIN has just employed one, right? I think he was the one that spotted Ronald Susilo as a 10 year old. Perhaps this is the start of better things for Singapore badminton.
Well...Rasmussen/Steffensen were seeded...even though they are a new pair. The same goes for Jung/Lee in German and Swiss Open (even though it's a different Jung/Lee now). The moment I saw the final draw for MD, my heart sank because Choong/Lee always has good record against Indo pair. They beat Luluk/Alvent in the Indo open, Markis/Hendra in the Sea Games Team Event...and now...Candra/Sigit in the AE.
They lost to the same 3 Indo pairs too last year. Its a matter of up and down at this level, though I think Luluk/Alvent could really do better if Luluk keeps his temper on court. He's much like Cheah Soon Kit, it's the same temper tantrum that made Soon Kit and Luluk unable to reach greatness (unlike Ricky/Rexy, Sigit/Chandra etc).
Yes, it makes sense for Rexy to be nearer home in warmer climes and to please his family. Rexy will of course be much at home in Singapore as he is in Malaysia. We still have an Indonesian coach helping out in MD, I think. Btw, our MD is our weakest department, IMHO. In my post yesterday, I relayed an introduction on our new MS Indonesian coach, 37-year-old Asep Suharno, who was hired to replace Ronald Susilo's favourite coach, Mulyo, who departed 2 years ago. Asep has been Indonesian MS coach for 5 years and has handled Taufik and Sony during his stint, it seemed. He should be more than welcomed by Ronald as you've said and I certainly hope Asep can improve our boys in singles. Fortunately, we now have a new bunch of boys who have just completed their 'O' Levels and are willing to turn pro. Asep should be able to help them become better players. Do you know more about Asep?
Cai/Fu were demolished by Lin and Tazari. I was there watching... Cai/Fu were not injured, not playing too badly, they were destroyed. Plain and simple. Lin/Tazari, Abdul/Gan are incredible. Breathtaking defence, counterattack, and always looking out to attack. Oh yes, they are ligtning fast as well.
