KUALA LUMPUR: The lack of left-handed sparring partners is a setback for coach Misbun Sidek in his task to prepare Lee Chong Wei to be at peak form for the All-England from March 9-14.
Chong Wei’s main rival in Birmingham will be formidable southpaw Lin Dan of China.
Lin Dan will be out to win a fifth All-England title while Chong Wei is hoping to get a first in the centenary year of the prestigious tournament.
Chun Seang: The southpaw is a likely candidate to spar with Lee Chong Wei. Misbun said that he would come out with plans to get Chong Wei ready to face his opponents, especially Lin Dan.
“Playing against a left-handed player has its own challenges. Sometimes, one can be caught off guard with unexpected strokes,” he said.
“Lin Dan has proved to be one of the best southpaws and his approach to a game is totally different.”
En route to winning the recent Korean and Malaysian Open titles, Chong Wei did not run into opponents who adopt the same approach as Lin Dan.
Currently, there are only two left-handed players in the national back-up team — Tan Chun Seang and Chong Wei Feng.
“Chun Seang is a more ideal sparring partner for Chong Wei because he is more aggressive while Wei Feng has his soft touches,” said Misbun.
“However, we will make the proper adjustments in training. This is only one of the areas that I am looking at.”
Meanwhile, Misbun hoped that the back-up shuttlers would learn the importance of physical training from Chong Wei.
“I think, their most glaring weakness is their physical condition. They should watch what Chong Wei does. Despite his age, he is able to cope with huge dose of physical training. Our back-up players should follow suit,” he said.
Misbun said that he would work together with other coaches to pick the most reliable players for the Thomas Cup Finals, which Malaysia will host at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil from May 9-16.
“The gap is so wide between Chong Wei and the others. We will monitor the back-up players over the next few tournaments before we name our line-up for the Finals. We will monitor them closely too in training sessions.”
Currently, the players are gearing up for the National Grand Prix Finals, which be held in Johor Baru from Feb 4-7. THE STAR
Chong Wei’s main rival in Birmingham will be formidable southpaw Lin Dan of China.
Lin Dan will be out to win a fifth All-England title while Chong Wei is hoping to get a first in the centenary year of the prestigious tournament.
Chun Seang: The southpaw is a likely candidate to spar with Lee Chong Wei. “Playing against a left-handed player has its own challenges. Sometimes, one can be caught off guard with unexpected strokes,” he said.
“Lin Dan has proved to be one of the best southpaws and his approach to a game is totally different.”
En route to winning the recent Korean and Malaysian Open titles, Chong Wei did not run into opponents who adopt the same approach as Lin Dan.
Currently, there are only two left-handed players in the national back-up team — Tan Chun Seang and Chong Wei Feng.
“Chun Seang is a more ideal sparring partner for Chong Wei because he is more aggressive while Wei Feng has his soft touches,” said Misbun.
“However, we will make the proper adjustments in training. This is only one of the areas that I am looking at.”
Meanwhile, Misbun hoped that the back-up shuttlers would learn the importance of physical training from Chong Wei.
“I think, their most glaring weakness is their physical condition. They should watch what Chong Wei does. Despite his age, he is able to cope with huge dose of physical training. Our back-up players should follow suit,” he said.
Misbun said that he would work together with other coaches to pick the most reliable players for the Thomas Cup Finals, which Malaysia will host at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil from May 9-16.
“The gap is so wide between Chong Wei and the others. We will monitor the back-up players over the next few tournaments before we name our line-up for the Finals. We will monitor them closely too in training sessions.”
Currently, the players are gearing up for the National Grand Prix Finals, which be held in Johor Baru from Feb 4-7. THE STAR
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