K.M. Boopathy
THE just concluded Taiwan Open is a strong indication that Malaysia’s chance of winning the men’s singles gold in December’s
Laos Sea Games is seriously under threat .
Even the presence of World No 1 Lee ChongWei will not guarantee gold in Laos after his recent loss to Sony DwiKuncoro of Indonesia at the World Championships and the rise of Vietnam’s Nguyen Tien Minh.
Tien Minh has won the Thailand Open (last month) beating Boonsak Ponsana in the process, while his wins over Hafiz Hashim in the semi-finals and veteran Wong Choong Hann in the final of the Taiwan Open is proof enough that the Vietnamese shuttler will be dangerous in Laos.
Tien Minh had also beaten Chong Wei in the Singapore Open in June and this only exposes the inconsistency of the Malaysian and the fact that Chong Wei has never made it to the final of the men’s singles in the Sea Games after several tries, does not augur well for Malaysia.
Maria Kristin Yulianti of Indonesia could also be too strong for Wong Mew Choo and Lydia Cheah in the women’s singles, and the Indonesians are also traditionally strong in the mixed doubles.
This only leaves Malaysia with the men’s and women’s doubles to depend on through Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong and Wong Pei Tty-Chin Eei Hui respectively.
However, since the BA of Malaysia (BAM) is contemplating not sending a full-strength squad and instead will send back-up shuttlers for some exposure, it will be a delicate s i t u at i o n .
Chong Wei has openly voiced his desire to win at least the regional honour and he could get the nod while Kien Keat-Boon Heong may also make it.
BAM must be careful when including back-up players who have been performing below par on the international scene as the wrong mixture could see Malaysia return from Laos without gold in a repeat of Korat two years ago.
Three men’s doubles back-up pairs — Chan Peng Soon-Lim Khim Wah, Hoon Thien How-Ong Soon Hock and Mak Hee Chun-Tan Wee Kiong — were sent to the Taiwan Open and despite the absence of top pairs, none even made it to the semis.
Indonesia have always sent their best to the Sea Games, so Malaysia need to think about consistently winning gold and send capable seniors and deserving back-up player s.
Malaysia are not only shaky in the Sea Games but next year's New Delhi Commonwealth Games may not be plain sailing e i t h e r.
Malaysia, as usual, will be good enough for the men's singles and doubles but increasing the gold tally could be difficult if the performance of the national shuttlers do not improve.
The fight for thewomen’s singles gold is likely to be a toss between Saina Nehwal of India and the China-born Singaporeans, while India have also emerged as favourites in the mixed doubles as V. Diju- Jwala Gutta have been consistently beating Malaysian pairs.
India have shown vast improvement under veteran Indonesian coach Atik Jauhari, who had guided former world champions Candra Wijaya-Sigit Budiar to.
Home ground advantage will also give the Indians an edge.
Malaysia have been struggling to impress in major events like the Olympics and World Championships, so they must at least make sure not to slip up in the Sea Games and Commonwealth Games.
The rise of Vietnam’s Nguyen Tien Minh will pose great danger to Malaysian shuttlers in December’s Laos Sea Games.
The rise of Vietnam’s Nguyen Tien Minh will pose great danger to Malaysian shuttlers in December’s Laos Sea Games.
2009/09/01
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