Skip to main content

Chong Wei to play in India

TOP SEED: Withdrawal could see the Malaysian lose his World No 1 ranking

LEE Chong Wei has decided to compete in the India Open which begins in New Delhi tomorrow as withdrawing from the super series event will see China's Chen Long overtake him as the World No 1.
Chong Wei, the top seed, reached the final of the India Open last year and needs to at least reach the semi-finals to maintain his World No 1 ranking.

Although Chong Wei was mulling his decision to compete in the India Open after BA of Malaysia (BAM) secretary Ng Chin Chai had advised him to skip the event as he had not been able to focus on training since his return from the All England in March.

The arrival of Chong Wei's son, Kingston, born two weeks ago was another reason for Chin Chai asking the shuttler to reconsider his decision to compete in India.

However, Chong Wei has declared that he is in condition to play in India and will face mediocre opposition as the tournament has not attracted big names.

Chong Wei opens his campaign against Scott Evans of Wales before a meeting with Hong Kong's Wong Wing Ki. His quarter-final opponent is expected to be either P. Kashyap of India or Indonesian veteran Taufik Hidayat.

Assuming he advances, the World No 1 could then face fourth seeded Dane Jan Jorgensen in the last four and if he progresses, will find Kenichi Tago of Japan awaiting him in the final.

Men's doubles Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong, the second seeds, have a tougher task as they face the danger of a quarter-final exit in a possible meeting against Kim Ki Jung-Kim Sa Rang of South Korea.
However, national doubles chief coach Tan Kim Her expects Kien Keat-Boon Heong, who have been focusing on their fitness in an effort to regain their form, to do better and should they clear the last eight, will come up against another Korean pair Ko Sung Hyun-Lee Yong Dae in the semis.

World No 7 Tan Wee Kiong-Hoon Thien How will also be hoping to end their semi-final jinx in super series events but face some huge challenges to achieve their goal.

Wee Kiong-Thien How, who face little trouble against India's Khetal Chahal-Deepak Khatri in the opening round, will be up against Australia Open champions Ryan Agung Saputra-Angga Pratama of Indonesia in the second round.

This is likely to be followed by another difficult clash against Japan's Hiroyuki Endo-Kenichi Hayakawa in the last eight and they must then beat either World No 1 Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen of Denmark or China's All England champions Liu Xiaolong-Qiu Zihan to make their first final in a super series event.

Lee Chong Wei will face Scott Evans of Wales in the first round of the India Open in New Delhi tomorrow.

Read more: Chong Wei to play in India - Badminton - New Straits Times

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ex-coach's jail sentence cut to a year

PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal yesterday sentenced former athletics coach C. Ramanathan to 12 months' jail for molesting two junior athletes 19 years ago. A three-man bench led by Datuk Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus unanimously dismissed Ramanathan's appeal against conviction, but varied the jail sentence of four years to a year, which was to run concurrently. Following yesterday's ruling, Ramanathan, 75, a former teacher, walked out a free man as he had served 10 months in Kajang Prison. Convicts get one-third remission for good behaviour while in prison. However, he will lose his pension. Hishamudin, who sat with Datuk Abdul Wahab Patail and Datuk Linton Albert, said the court found no merit to overturn the conviction. "However, in reducing the sentence, we considered Ramanathan's age and the long years the appeal has taken." Deputy public prosecutor Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud submitted that then High Court judge Tan Sri Abdull Hamid E...
2 comments
Read more

Govt Always Gives Emphasis To Sporting Culture, Says PM

KUALA TERENGGANU, May 29 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badaw i said the government always gives emphasis on cultivating a strong sporting culture in achieving excellence at the international level. As such, the Prime Minister said, it was important to scout for young talents in sports. "I observe that the Malaysia Games (Sukma) has become one of the important platforms to do so. "In this arena, the potentials and skills of the youngsters can be identified for development so that they can achieve greater success in sports," he said in his message in the souvenir book of the 12th Sukma from May 31 until June 9. Abdullah said he was aware that competition in sports was very keen and challenging but this did not mean that Malaysian athletes were incapable of competing at the international level. "The fact is that we have all the characteristics required to be excellent. We must inculcate a strong fighting spirit so that we don't easily surrender,...
1 comment
Read more

Rajagobal Let Off The Hook

PETALING JAYA, April 24 (Bernama) -- National head coach Datuk K. Rajagobal was let off the hook by the Football Association of Malaysia's (FAM) Disciplinary Committee after finding no evidence that he had violated FAM's Article 88, as claimed. FAM Disciplinary Committee chairman Datuk Taufik Abdul Razak said the committee had decided not to charge Rajagobal after carefully analysing the video of the post-match press conference by the 56-year-old coach. "After listening to the recording of the post-match press conference, we decided to drop the charge against Rajagopal as he did not make such a statement. "Maybe his (Rajagobal) assessment and comments of the match was misconstrued by the media. There was no mention of the FAM policy throughout his comments," said Taufik after emerging from a three-hour Disciplinary Committee meeting at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya, here, Wednesday. Rajagobal who does not mince his words when asked to com...
4 comments
Read more