Friday May 6, 2011 The Star Unheralded Vountus-Lutfi steal show with major scalp By RAJES PAUL ALOR SETAR: Top seeds Lee Chong Wei and Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong lived up to their top billings when they checked into the quarter-finals of the Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold with relatively comfortable wins at the Sultan Abdul Halim Stadium here yesterday. But it was the surprise victory of Malaysia’s unheralded men’s pair of Vountus Indra Mawan-Mohd Lutfi Zaim Abdul Khalid over Olympic and former world champions Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan that stole the thunder. Vountus-Lutfi, both 22-years-old, turned the tables against the second seeded Indonesians, winning 21-13, 18-21, 21-13 in 39 minutes to set up a match against South Koreans Cho Gun-woo-Kwon Yi-goo. Dynamic duo: Mohd Lutfi Zaim Abdul Khalid (left) and Vountus Indra Mawan defeated Indonesia’s Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan 21-13, 18-21, 21-13 to book their spot in the quarter-finals yesterday. — CHIN CHENG YEANG / The Star They scored their career best win to earn a first appearance in the quarter-finals of an international tournament. A dazed Vountus, whose partnership with Lufti is only a year old, said of the unexpected victory: “We trusted each other and both of us rose to the occasion. “We are still young and there is so much more to learn but this win will put us in the right path for success. We hope to ride on this to scale greater heights.” National doubles coach Rexy Mainaky was pleased with the exploits of the back-up squad’s doubles shuttlers. “I have been focusing on Koo and Tan while Rosman (Razak) has been taking care of them. I am pleased to note that these players stayed composed throughout the game to win it,” he said. “Usually, a young pair will play to the gallery or will make mistakes in their haste to gain victory. But Vountus and Lutfi were in control. They did not let their emotions get the better of them. It is a big achievement for them.” Kien Keat-Boon Heong stayed on track to win their first title of the year when they defeated younger compatriots Ow Yao Han-Chooi Kah Ming 21-9, 21-13 in just 21 minutes. It was a much better showing from the country’s top pair after losing to the 2009 world junior champions in the opening round of the Kuala Lumpur Open last month. They will take on Hiroyuki Endo-Kenichi Hayakawa today. Malaysia’s interest in the men’s singles is down to only Chong Wei, who suffered a rough patch en route to a 21-19, 21-19 win over Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia in the third round yesterday. “I was disorientated today. I made quite a number of unforced errors. I was way behind in the second game but I did not give up,” said the world No. 1. “Fortunately, I was patient enough to finish him off in straight games. I have to be more focused tomorrow.” Chong Wei will play against Brice Leverdez for a place in the semi-finals. The Frenchman ended the gallant run of Malaysian Beryno Wong. It was also the end of the road for Mohd Hafiz Hashim and Liew Daren, who were beaten by Vietnamese Nguyen Tien Minh and South Korean Lee Hyun-il respectively. The shock of the night in the men’s singles was the exit of world champion Chen Jin of China, who was beaten 17-21, 21-19, 21-13 by Japan’s Sho Sasaki.
Friday May 6, 2011 The Star Nelson-Teo have what it takes to join senior squad ALOR SETAR: Youngsters Nelson Heg Wei Keat-Teo Ee Yi are like fresh breath of air for Malaysia in the men’s doubles badminton. They have the talent, style, big ambition and fire in the belly. These are perfect ingredients for Nelson-Ee Yi to make a grand entrance into the senior league and be counted on by Malaysia. Making waves: Teo Ee Yi (foreground) and Nelson Heg showed good promise at the Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold in Alor Setar. In the Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold here on Wednesday, the duo held the upper hand when they took a 15-11 lead in the rubber game before losing 21-16, 12-21, 19-21 to their senior compatriots Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Ong Soon Hock. The 18-year-old Ee Yi was ruing over a missed opportunity to create a big win. ”It was a heartbreaking defeat for us. We were so close to winning. Fairuzizuan and Soon Hock were so good at front court and we lacked sharpness at the net,” he said. “Both Nelson and I have come far since we teamed up two years ago. We are growing more confident. “I have always admired Tan Boon Heong (who forms the national top partnership with Koo Kien Keat) from the start. I like the way he takes control of the game from the back of the court. “Hopefully, Nelson and I will be able to make it big in the senior team within the next two years.” But first, Ee Yi-Nelson have two mission to accomplish this year – to become gold medallists in both the Asian Juniors (July 2-9 in India) and the World Juniors (Oct 28-Nov 6 in Taiwan). “We reached the final of the World Juniors last year but we crashed out in the semi-finals at the Asian Juniors,” said Ee Yi. “We want to win both the titles this time. It will be a perfect end to our junior careers.” The duo come under the charge of Yap Kim Hock under the Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) programme. With a few back-up pairs, among them Ow Yao Han-Chooi Kah Ming and Pang Zheng Lin-Yew Hong Kheng, showing good promise, Malaysia’s doubles department may finally be proud of having both quality and quantity.
Gun Woo CHO / Yi Goo KWON (KOR) beat Mohd Lutfi Zaim ABDUL KHALID / Vountus Indra MAWAN (MAS): 21-13 21-17 Yesterday, they beat Kido/Setiawan but today they failed to continue their gallant kill... BOLEH?
http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2011/5/31/sports/8790966&sec=sports Arif hoping for change of fortunes in Thailand KUALA LUMPUR: Mohd Arif Abdul Latif and China’s Chen Long have experienced contrasting fortunes after their first encounter in the Asian junior championships in 2007. While Chen Long has gone on to win Super Series titles and is currently ranked fourth in the world, the Malaysian is still struggling to get far in a Grand Prix Gold tournament. But the world No. 98 hopes that his fortune will change, starting with the Thailand GP Gold, which will be held in Bangkok from June 7-12. “I lost (21-18, 18-21, 20-22) to Chen Long in the final of the Asian Juniors and I remember giving him a tough fight. It was my best achievement in the championships,” said Arif. “I have been left behind since then, mostly because of my own mistakes. However, I have made a lot of improvement since coming under the charge of Hendrawan. I am physically stronger and I am able to show better strategy in my game.” Arif is currently the top ranked shuttler in the national back-up squad. In fact, over the last one year, he has beaten four elite shuttlers – Tan Chun Seang, Chong Wei Feng, Liew Daren and Chan Kwong Beng – in local tournaments. “Chen Long will be at the Thailand GP Gold as the top seed. It will be great if I can achieve a good result there. Ultimately, I hope to win at least one GP Gold title by end of the year,” he said. Arif is in the same quarter as Chen Long together with three other Malaysians – Daren, Goh Soon Huat and Wei Feng. He has a tricky first-round match against England’s Rajiv Ouseph, who has shown the ability to make life difficult for top players on his good day.
Arif is now ranked 98 while his peer Chen Long is world No. 4... What a big contrast... No wonder Mr.NG Chin Chai said that we are at least 10yrs behind CHN...
Wednesday June 1, 2011 The Star Jing Yi vows to stamp her mark after Sudirman Cup experience By KNG ZHENG GUAN KUALA LUMPUR: National women’s singles shuttler Tee Jing Yi has vowed to use the experience gained at the Sudirman Cup last week to become a better player, starting with the Thailand Open GP Gold, which will be held in Bangkok from June 7-12. The 20-year-old Jing Yi had a mixed outing in the world mixed team championships in Qingdao. She played two matches – beating Russian Anastasia Prokopenko in a group tie and was outclassed by world No. 6 Bae Youn-joo of South Korea in the quarter-finals. Jing Yi, who is now the top ranked national women’s singles shuttler at world No. 140 ahead of the more senior Lydia Cheah following the retirement of Wong Mew Choo, has chosen to stay upbeat and optimistic. “It was never going to be easy playing against someone who is ranked among the top 10 in the world,” she said. On the rise: Tee Jing Yi is now Malaysia’s top ranked women’s singles shuttler at world No. 140. “However, it was a good learning experience for me as now I can gauge the level of these top players in terms of speed and strategies on court. “Right now in the national team, I reckon that my level is almost the same as Lydia while the others are rapidly catching up with us. “Therefore it is crucial that I make good use of this valuable experience to further improve myself to become a world beater one day.” In the Thailand Open GP Gold, Jing Yi will have to come through from two rounds of a qualifying tournament to get into the main draw. She will play against Japan’s Sayaka Takahashi in the first round and a win will give her a match against either Prajongjai Rawinda of Thailand or another Japanese Megumi Taruno. The other Malaysians in the women’s singles are Lydia and Sannatasah Saniru, who also have to earn their places in the main draw. The women’s singles competition has attracted a number of top players with five of the top 10 players in the world in the fray – India’s Saina Nehwal (No. 4), China’s Jiang Yanjiao (No. 5), Thailand’s Porntip Burana­prasertsuk (No. 9), Germany’s Julianne Schenk (No. 10) as well as Youn-joo.
Tuesday May 31, 2011 BAM to provide huge monetary boost to states to develop grassroots players By RAJES PAUL KUALA LUMPUR: China have again showed that they are in their own league by nailing the Sudirman Cup for the eighth time. And Malaysia believe that a huge monetary boost of RM1.6mil into their development programme soon will help to bridge the gap in standard with China. For the future: Chin Chai wants to create a strong talent base. Yesterday, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) secretary, Ng Chin Chai, announced of their big plans to restore their grassroots programme, which will see the states playing a bigger role in nurturing players. “It will not be too wrong to say that Malaysia are 10 years behind China. It will take years of effort, a strong base of talent and lots of money for us to catch up with them,” said Chin Chai. “But the good news is that grand plans are in the pipeline for us to strengthen our state programmes. This will ensure us to have steady flow of talent coming through to the national set-up. “The National Sports Council (NSC) currently give us RM1mil for the state programmes. Now, the BAM will top it up with another RM1.6mil. “A state will now get about RM200,000 instead of RM30,000 annually from us. The monetary boost will help them regulate their programmes for the players aged between 10 and 18-years-old. We will revive badminton competitions in schools. “The BAM’s development committee, as the central authoritative body, will coordinate all the state development programmes. We need good implementors and we are also investing on producing good coaches to complement the state programmes. We are serious in creating a wider base.” The new multi-million ringgit programmes will be unveiled as soon as BAM officially signs a lucrative sponsorship deal. On the performances of Malaysia in the just concluded world mixed team championships in Qingdao, Chin Chai, who is also the coaching and training committee chairman, said that the team did reasonably well. Malaysia were eliminated by South Korea in the quarter-finals, losing the tie 2-3. “South Korea have reached the semi-finals in every edition of the Sudirman Cup. It is encouraging to see our team drag them down to the wire. It was a good experience for some of our first timers, among them Tee Jing Yi and Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying,” he said. Chin Chai agreed that if the Sudirman Cup was used as a yardstick, the China players will be the main title contenders in all the events at the next major championships – the world meet in London from Aug 8-14. In the men’s singles, Lin Dan will still be the favourite to win a fourth world title. At the moment, Malaysia’s world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei is seen as the only player who is able to turn the tables on Lin Dan. China, however, are the overwhelming favourites to win the women’s singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles titles. And if veterans Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng can stay on top of their game, a fourth world title is a possibility for them.
Tuesday May 31, 2011 The Star Chong Wei, Koo and Tan excused from SEA Games KUALA LUMPUR: Lee Chong Wei’s wish to stay out of the Indonesia SEA Games has been granted. In fact, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) have also decided not to send their top men’s pair, Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong, for the biennial Games scheduled for Nov 11-25. Yesterday, BAM secretary Ng Chin Chai echoed Chong Wei’s sentiments on giving the younger players a shot at proving themselves in the regional Games. “The BAM have made plans to expose a newer group of players for the Games. We will name the squad at least three months before the Games,” he said. “All the players under the Road to London programme – Chong Wei, Koo and Tan – will focus on their preparation for the Olympics.” With the BAM’s decision, a keen competition is expected to take place among the back-up shuttlers to prove their worth to earn selection for the SEA Games.
http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2011/6/2/sports/8821120&sec=sports Badminton: Four pairs urged to nail tough first-round ties PETALING JAYA: National back-up squad men’s doubles coach Tan Kim Her has one instruction to his charges competing in the Thailand Open GP Gold in Bangkok next week – win their first match. He has four pairs in the fray – Ow Yao Han-Chooi Kah Ming, Goh Wei Shem-Lim Khim Wah, Chan Peng Soon-Tan Wee Kiong and Mak Hee Chun-Yew Hong Kheng. And none of them face an easy ride in the first round. Yao Han-Kah Ming will face seventh seeds Ingo Kindervater-Johannes Schoettler of Germany while Wei Shem-Khim Wah are up against sixth seeds Cho Gun-woo-Kwon Yi-goo of South Korea. Hee Chun-Hong Kheng will even have to play two rounds in the qualifying tournament to earn their place in the main draw. Nevertheless, Kim Her is positive that his boys will be able to do well in the tournament. “My instruction to them is simple. Get past the first round match and reaching the quarter-finals or semi-finals shouldn’t be a problem,” he said. “And my best bets to go far in the tournament are Yao Han-Kah Ming, who are one of the most improved pairs. “They are up against a German pair and they just need to step up their game on the day itself to win the match.” Meanwhile, there was a surprise when Hee Chun, who has recovered from a shoulder injury, was paired up with Hong Kheng for the tournament. Hee Chun previously partnered Wee Kiong but that partnership has taken a turn for the worse due to a lack of understanding and it was understood that the Thailand Open GP Gold would serve as the last chance for them to save the partnership. For now, Kim Her has chosen instead to split the duo but will give them a chance in the Singapore Open Super Series from June 14-19. “I just want to let them play instead of keeping them by the sidelines,” said Kim Her. “Hee Chun-Wee Kiong were quite good and they still have a world ranking (No. 51) and I want them to make full use of a bigger tournament to revive their partnership.”
