TheStar 24th Aug ANAHEIM: THE World Badminton Championships gold medal remains elusive for Malaysia but if the performances of the younger set of national players in Anaheim are anything to go by, there is much hope that it won't be too long before the country has a glittering outing. By Malaysian standards, the players put up creditable shows – bagging two bronze medals from the men's singles and men's doubles. National number one Lee Chong Wei lived up to his top eight billing in his first appearance in the championships but failed to bring out his best when it mattered most in the semi-finals against eventual champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia. The Indonesian did his homework and chose to attack from the start, leaving the fifth seeded Malaysian stumped. Chong Wei failed to recover from a 3-15 defeat in the first game and Taufik went on to book his place in the final, winning the second game at 15-12. Chan Chong Ming-Koo Kien Keat also put up a noteworthy performance in their debut appearance together to win an unexpected medal. They scalped two top pairs – All-England champions Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun of China and Athens Olympics bronze medallists Flandi Limpele-Eng Hian of Indonesia to reach the semi-finals before losing to the formidable Indonesian pair of Candra Wijaya-Sigit Budiarto. Chong Ming, who has now joined Cheah Soon Kit as a two-time Malaysian medal winner in the world championships, is only 25 and he can still be depended on to shoulder the country's challenge with the 19-year-old Kien Keat until the Beijing Olympics in three years' time. Chong Wei, who will only turn 23 in October, still has time on his side and should bounce back to make a stronger bid in the next world meet in Madrid next year. The Penang-born player, who first showed potential as a world class player under coach Misbun Sidek, has refined his techniques under Li Mao. While Misbun emphasised on footwork and fitness, Li Mao, who took Chong Wei under his wings early this year, added quality and strength. Li Mao said that the experience Chong Wei gained in Anaheim would strengthen his resolve. “He has already beaten all the top players in the world. He did not make it to the final but his time will come soon,” said the Chinese coach. It took Rashid Sidek five World Championships appearances to reach the quarter-finals in Glasgow 1997 while Wong Choong Hann made his breakthrough in his fourth outing in Birmingham two years ago, finishing as the runner-up to China's Xia Xuanze. Chong Wei certainly has the motivation to become Malaysia's best-ever singles player in modern times. National head coach Yap Kim Hock was encouraged by the performances of the young doubles players in the national team. “I believe our young doubles players are already there. Kien Keat has made a breakthrough in his first world championships and it has boosted his confidence tremendously,” he said. “I believe that together with Chong Ming, they will become a much stronger pair, now that the complete coaching set-up is in place.” Kim Hock added that Tan Bin Shen-Ong Soon Hock and Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Lin Woon Fui gave satisfactory performances to reach the third round in their debut outing in the world championships. “Our doubles players are on the right track. Chong Ming-Kien Keat and Bin Shen-Soon Hock are already capable of playing quality shots. The only thing now is to bring out the consistency in their play. “With Rexy (Mainaky) now with us, I believe we can prepare them to give stronger performances in the next world championships.” Kim Hock also said there was a need to recruit young players with potential from the Project 2012 squad to come into the national training squad immediately. “The government is now giving complete support by providing the funds. We need to have players ready to take over from the seniors after the 2008 Olympics,” he said. “We are not worried about the men's doubles. The ones we need to pay attention to are in the men's and women's singles and the women's doubles. “We only have Chong Wei and Mohd Hafiz Hashim to continue to carry the challenges in the men's singles while Wong Mew Choo is the only women's singles player we can depend on.”
