NST DEC 1 It was the fightback that had fans at the Philsports Multi-Sports Complex on their feet as Malaysia came from 2-0 down to win the men's badminton team gold 3-2 last night. All looked lost when first singles Lee Chong Wei and first doubles Chan Chong Ming-Koo Kien Keat, expected to give Malaysia a 2-0 lead, lost tamely but the fightback was sparked by Hafiz Hashim and completed by veterans Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah and Wong Choong Hann. For Choong Hann, it was the second time he became the gold medal winner as in 2001, Malaysia had been in a similar position and the 2003 World Championships silver medallist provided the winning point by beating Ronny Agustinus. It had looked all lost when Chong Wei, again, found World and Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat too good for him as he lost 13-15, 7-15. Taufik had stopped Chong Wei 15-3, 15-12 in the World Championships semi-finals in Anaheim in August and he was in equally hot form yesterday. To Chong Wei's credit, he tried in the first game, coming back from 5-9 down to lead 11-9. But once Taufik drew level, he didn't look back as he sealed the first game 15-13. The Indonesian raced to a 6-0 lead with his opening serve in the second and from there on, didn't face much resistance to win 15-7. But Chong Ming-Kien Keat, who like Chong Wei are rated as favourites to win the individual events, fared even worse as they fell to a 4-15, 9-15 defeat to Luluk Hadiyanto-Alvent Yulianto. Then the fightback began. If Indonesia had won their first two points easily, they could only sit back and watched haplessly as Malaysia ripped them apart in the next three ties. Hafiz, known for his inconsistency, rose to the occasion to easily beat Sony Dwi Kuncoro 15-11, 15-4. Then came the turn of veteran pair Tan Fook-Wan Wah and to the delight of the Malaysian fans, they hardly put a foot wrong as they sent young pair Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan packing 15-12, 15-8. And Choong Hann completed the come-from-behind win by disposing Simon Santoso 15-9, 15-7 and the gold medal that was emphatically lost 3-0 in Vietnam two years ago, was back in Malaysia.
