Lin Dan: I want to emulate Peter Gade

Lin Dan wants to be China’s Peter Gade Christensen.
The Olympic and three-time world champion hopes to emulate the Dane to continue playing even at the age of 34.
“My next goal is to become China’s Peter Gade because I really hope to play until I am 35-years-old. I hope that more young players from China can learn from Peter and stay active for a long time in the sport,” Lin Dan said after his win over the Dane in the final tie of the Sudirman Cup here last Sunday.
The 27-year-old shuttler had said that he was learning to enjoy playing badminton after his success in 2008 Beijing Olympics and was looking forward to defending the title in the London Games next year.
When he was told that Lin Dan was inspired to follow his path, Gade Christensen laughed and offered some advice.
“I am proud that I can still be at the top today,” he said.
“Lin Dan and (Lee) Chong Wei are really tough players to compete against and I have to do my utmost best in my everyday’s practice. I hope that Lin Dan will still be around for a few years more.”
The Dane added that he respected Lin Dan very much as the Chinese shuttler was a complete player and perhaps the best player who ever played the game.
“He has the kind of character that I like. He is not truly confident.
“You can see he’s got the mental feeling, which is good for him. But sometimes it makes him a bit vulnerable and I like that about him,” he said.
During the Sudirman Cup, Gade Christensen revealed that this would be his final series after having represented Denmark for more than 15 years.
Chong Wei and Lin Dan also hinted that they may not feature in the next edition in 2013.

Arif hoping for change of fortunes in Thailand

Mohd Arif Abdul Latif and China’s Chen Long have experienced contrasting fortunes after their first encounter in the Asian junior championships in 2007.
While Chen Long has gone on to win Super Series titles and is currently ranked fourth in the world, the Malaysian is still struggling to get far in a Grand Prix Gold tournament.
But the world No. 98 hopes that his fortune will change, starting with the Thailand GP Gold, which will be held in Bangkok from June 7-12.

No there yet: Mohd Arif Abdul Latif is stil strugling to get far in a Grand Prix Gold tournament.

“I lost (21-18, 18-21, 20-22) to Chen Long in the final of the Asian Juniors and I remember giving him a tough fight. It was my best achievement in the championships,” said Arif.
“I have been left behind since then, mostly because of my own mistakes. However, I have made a lot of improvement since coming under the charge of Hendrawan. I am physically stronger and I am able to show better strategy in my game.”
Arif is currently the top ranked shuttler in the national back-up squad.
In fact, over the last one year, he has beaten four elite shuttlers – Tan Chun Seang, Chong Wei Feng, Liew Daren and Chan Kwong Beng – in local tournaments.
“Chen Long will be at the Thailand GP Gold as the top seed. It will be great if I can achieve a good result there. Ultimately, I hope to win at least one GP Gold title by end of the year,” he said.
Arif is in the same quarter as Chen Long together with three other Malaysians – Daren, Goh Soon Huat and Wei Feng.
He has a tricky first-round match against England’s Rajiv Ouseph, who has shown the ability to make life difficult for top players on his good day.
China have a relatively strong line-up for the men’s singles. Also in the fray are world champion Chen Jin, Wang Zhengming, Lu Yi and Wen Kai.
Indonesia and Japan have listed all their back-up shuttlers. South Korea will be banking on Park Sung-hwan, Lee Hyun-il and Shon Wan-ho while Thailand have second seed Boonsak Ponsana as their top contender for the title.

Chong Wei, Koo and Tan excused from SEA Games

Lee Chong Wei’s wish to stay out of the Indonesia SEA Games has been granted.
In fact, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) have also decided not to send their top men’s pair, Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong, for the biennial Games scheduled for Nov 11-25.
Yesterday, BAM secretary Ng Chin Chai echoed Chong Wei’s sentiments on giving the younger players a shot at proving themselves in the regional Games.
“The BAM have made plans to expose a newer group of players for the Games. We will name the squad at least three months before the Games,” he said.
“All the players under the Road to London programme – Chong Wei, Koo and Tan – will focus on their preparation for the Olympics.”
With the BAM’s decision, a keen competition is expected to take place among the back-up shuttlers to prove their worth to earn selection for the SEA Games.

BAM to provide huge monetary boost to states to develop grassroots players

China have again showed that they are in their own league by nailing the Sudirman Cup for the eighth time.
And Malaysia believe that a huge monetary boost of RM1.6mil into their development programme soon will help to bridge the gap in standard with China.

For the future: Chin Chai wants to create a strong talent base.

Yesterday, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) secretary, Ng Chin Chai, announced of their big plans to restore their grassroots programme, which will see the states playing a bigger role in nurturing players.
“It will not be too wrong to say that Malaysia are 10 years behind China. It will take years of effort, a strong base of talent and lots of money for us to catch up with them,” said Chin Chai.
“But the good news is that grand plans are in the pipeline for us to strengthen our state programmes. This will ensure us to have steady flow of talent coming through to the national set-up.
“The National Sports Council (NSC) currently give us RM1mil for the state programmes. Now, the BAM will top it up with another RM1.6mil.
“A state will now get about RM200,000 instead of RM30,000 annually from us. The monetary boost will help them regulate their programmes for the players aged between 10 and 18-years-old. We will revive badminton competitions in schools.
“The BAM’s development committee, as the central authoritative body, will coordinate all the state development programmes. We need good implementors and we are also investing on producing good coaches to complement the state programmes. We are serious in creating a wider base.”
The new multi-million ringgit programmes will be unveiled as soon as BAM officially signs a lucrative sponsorship deal.
On the performances of Malaysia in the just concluded world mixed team championships in Qingdao, Chin Chai, who is also the coaching and training committee chairman, said that the team did reasonably well.
Malaysia were eliminated by South Korea in the quarter-finals, losing the tie 2-3.
“South Korea have reached the semi-finals in every edition of the Sudirman Cup. It is encouraging to see our team drag them down to the wire. It was a good experience for some of our first timers, among them Tee Jing Yi and Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying,” he said.
Chin Chai agreed that if the Sudirman Cup was used as a yardstick, the China players will be the main title contenders in all the events at the next major championships – the world meet in London from Aug 8-14.
In the men’s singles, Lin Dan will still be the favourite to win a fourth world title. At the moment, Malaysia’s world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei is seen as the only player who is able to turn the tables on Lin Dan.
China, however, are the overwhelming favourites to win the women’s singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles titles.
And if veterans Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng can stay on top of their game, a fourth world title is a possibility for them.

Jing Yi serves up a point in Malaysia’s win over Russia

Youngster Tee Jing Yi passed her first test as the country’s No. 1 women’s singles shuttler in the Sudirman Cup world mixed team championship tie against Russia in Qingdao yesterday.
The 20-year-old overcame early jitters to beat Anastasia Prokopenko 21-17, 21-13 and Malaysia went on to overcome Russia 4-1 in their opening tie in Group B.
It was Jing Yi’s first major tournament as the top ranked Malaysian women’ singles player and she was selected ahead of her senior, Lydia Cheah, whose world ranking has dropped due to injury.

Flying start: Tee Jing Yi defeated Russia’s Anastasia Prokopenko 21-17, 21-13.

Hopes are high on Jing Yi to fill the void left by Wong Mew Choo, who is now a coach at the Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS).
Besides Jing Yi’s win, the points in the victory over Russia came from Lee Chong Wei, Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong and Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty.
But Eei Hui-Pei Tty, however, took three games to beat Valeria Sorokina-Nina Vislova made their lives difficult before prevailing with wins over Vladimir Ivanov-Ivan Sozonov 21-12, 19-21, 21-15.
The defeat for Malaysia came in the opening mixed doubles match in which Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying found Alexandr Nikolaenko-Valeria Sorokina tough nuts to crack and went down fighting 19-21, 18-21.
Malaysia will take on Indonesia tomorrow and a win will take them them into the quarter-finals as the group winners.

BJSS boys singled out

The just concluded 100Plus National Junior Circuit Grand Prix Finals was seen as the platform to showcase the next badminton talent in the country.
And there were good potential in Jagdish Singh-Low Juan Shen (boys’ doubles), Chow Mei Kuan-Lee Meng Yean (girls’ doubles) and Yang Li Lian (girls’ singles), who emerged as champions in the Under-18 competition. And girls’ Under-16 winner Sylvia Kavita Kumares showed that she is one to watch in the future.
However, these shuttlers come under the Bukit Jalil Sports School’s (BJSS) programme and much was expected of them.

Top pair: Chow Mei Kuan and Lee Meng Yean won the Under-18 doubles title in the National Junior Circuit Grand Prix Finals on Sunday.

In the boys’ singles department, the situation is a little more dire.
BJSS fielded eight players in the boys’ Under-18 singles and three of them did not even make the quarter-finals. And the winner, Zulfadli Zulkifli, is not a member of the national badminton set-up.
The 18-year-old Kuala Lumpur player’s win was made even more impressive as he beat a host of BJSS shuttlers, including Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayup in the final.
Zulfadli should join the national set-up because it will only serve to make him a better player. Even KL coach A. Sankar has the same opinion.
“Zulfadli is an incredibly talented player and only through a good training programme such as the BAM’s can he go far and fulfil his potential,” said Sankar.
However, Zulfadli played down the idea of joining the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM).
“For now, I am satisfied with my training programme with KLRC (a professional badminton outfit) and there is no immediate plan to join the national set-up,” he said.
“My current goals are to play for Malaysia in the Asian Juniors (in July) and the World Juniors (in October). It doesn’t matter whether I am with the BAM or not because at the end of the day, I still have to give my best for the country.
“A reason for having the edge over the BJSS players is my participation in more international tournaments than them. The experience I gained helps make me a better player.”
However, Zulfadli said that he would not totally rule out joining the BAM.
“My long-term goal is to gain more world ranking because I want to play in an Olympics. It is an honour to don national colours and maybe being part of the BAM may improve my chances,” said Zulfadli, who is currently ranked at No. 188.
For the Asian Juniors, Zulfadli is certain to be one of the key players in the team. He did better than Azriyn and Goh Giap Chin in GP Finals and will be joining the national juniors for centralised training next month.
For the BAM though, all hope is not lost.
Azriyn and Giap Chin showed plenty of promise in the tournament last week and they can be counted on too to win honours in the Asian Juniors.
Malaysia have never won the singles title in the series with only two runner-up finishes by Mohd Arif Abdul Latif (2007) and Iskandar Zulkarnian Zainuddin (2009).
With Zulfadli leading the charge, the title duck could be broken. But whether he joins the BAM or not after that is left to be seen.
But as the BAM general manager, Kenny Goh, puts it: “The door is always open for him to join us because such a move will only be in the best interest for a player of his talent.”

Mentally frail Saina loses to Wang Xin

Saina Nehwal admitted on Sunday she needs to be mentally stronger if she is to consistently beat the top Chinese players after falling to Wang Xin in the final of the YONEX SUNRISE Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold. It was Wang Xin's first win of the year and she dedicated it to her mother.

Saina and Wang Xin have been swapping places in the world ranking with the Chinese player now ranked one rung higher at No. 3.

After crumbling to a devastating 13-21, 21-8, 21-14 loss, Saina said: “I made too many mistakes in the match, especially in the second game. I was bothered by two line calls in the third game and paid the ultimate price. I should have kept my cool and it is a good lesson for me.”

A fiery Saina who, missed the PROTON Malaysia Open Superseries in January because of an ankle injury, took the opening game with a mixture of drops and well placed winners.

The second game was completely different as Wang Xin, who had won her previous two Open tournament matches against Saina, upped the pace to move her opponent all round the court.

Her speed and decisive smashes saw her take it 21-8 when Saina took it easy after losing seven points in a row from 8-9 to fall behind 8-16.

Hoping to capitalise on her “rest period” Saina began the decider more aggressively but Wang Xin kept up her momentum to close out the 48-minute match.

“This is the third time I’m losing to her but I thought I could beat here as I'm physically alright. My ankle is not a problem as it is taped up and I won’t use that as an excuse.

“In the second game, I was trailing 8-9 when she won seven points in a row, I took it easy as I wanted to take a breather and catch her in the decider but it nearly worked. 

“We were level at 14-14 when I sent two crosscourt shots into the net. From there Wang Xin took advantage to run away with the title.”

Wang Xin made up for losing the 2009 final by adding this year’s title to the PROTON Malaysia Open Superseries crown she won in 2010. Wang Xin took home US$9,480 while. Saina pocketed US$4,560.

The winner said: "This is my first in win of the year and I would like to dedicate it to my mother."

Maeda-Suetsuna take back-to-back championships

Japan’s Miyuki Maeda-Satoko Suetsuna defeated team mates Shizuka Matsuo-Mami Naito 21-18, 21-13 in 76 minutes to win the YONEX SUNRISE Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold in Alor Star on Sunday.

Maeda-Suetsuna, who also won the YONEX SUNRISE India Open Superseries last week, had to battle hard against their opponents, whom they had faced twice previously.

Although they had lost to Matsuo-Naito in this year’s German Open Grand Prix quarter-finals, Maeda-Suetsuna remain undefeated against their team mates in finals, as they had also beaten them in the 2010 Denmark Superseries title decider.

It was a real battle royale with Matsuo-Naito showing great fighting spirit to comeback from an 11-3 deficit in the opening game before losing 21-18. Both pairs were engaged in long rallies which had the crowd at the Sultan Abdul Halim Stadium on their edge of their seats.

The second game followed the pattern of the first with Maeda-Suetsuna the early aggressors, charging to a 11-5 lead at the mid-game interval.

Once again Matsuo-Naito threatened a fight back but Maeda-Suetsuna had learnt their lessons from the opening game and put the brakes on to finish the game 21-13.

Maeda, who looked thoroughly exhausted, commented: “It was hard. Very, very tired. It is always the same between Japanese pairs. We know each other so well. I’m happy to have won the back-to-back titles.”

Chong Wei vows to keep on winning

Lee Chong Wei vowed to give hold on to his world No. 1 ranking until the Olympics next year after winning his third straight YONEX SUNRISE Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold crown and fifth title of the year.

The Malaysian, who entered Sunday’s final with victories in the VICTOR BWF Super Series Finals 2010 in Taiwan and PROTON Malaysia Open (January), YONEX All England Open Superseries Premier (March) and YONEX SUNRISE India Open Superseries last week. He was also runners-up at the VICTOR Korea Open four months ago.

Playing in front of Sultan Abdul Halim himself, Chong Wei continued his domination of Bao Chunlai, who he has now beaten 12 times in 16 meetings with his last loss coming in 2007. Chong Wei won 21-9, 21-19 to take home US$9,000 while Bao Chunlai walked away with US$4,560.

“I’m happy to have continued my winning streak this year. I want to maintain my No. 1 ranking until next year’s Olympics as it will be my last attempt to win the gold,” said Chong Wei, who had announced his intention to quit the sport after the London Games.

“I now go into every tournament feeling I can win them and I think that is a good mentality to have with the World Championships coming up in August.

“I have received some criticisms in the past regarding my failure to perform in the major tournaments and I have taken them on board. That is why it is good to continue winning as it gives me more confidence.”

The Malaysian, who was facing the wind in the first game of the final, attacked relentlessly as a bewildered Bao Chunlai had no answer to his shots.

Backed by the capacity crowd, Chong Wei rained in winners from all over the court to take the first game 21-9. It was a different story in the second as Chong Wei slowed the game down after making several errors, sending the shuttlecock long as he had trouble adjusting to the wind behind him.

He looked in trouble as Bao Chunlai took a 19-17 lead but Chong Wei dug deep to take the last four points.

Victory a big boost for Kien Keat-Boon Heong

ormer world No. 1s Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong finally ended a 16-month title drought in Open tournaments when they captured the YONEX SUNRISE Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold on Sunday and declared the win will give their fragile confidence a big boost.

Having failed to live up to expectations since winning the 2010 PROTON Malaysia Open Superseries last January, Kien Keat-Boon Heong has come in from much criticism.

However, the duo have never let it get them down and are finally glad to have returned to the winners’ circle with a 21-16, 21-7 victory over Indonesia’s Alvent Yulianto Chandra-Hendra Aprida Gunawan. 

“Although the victory was easier than expected (following an injury to Alvent), we are still satisfied with the win,” said a relieved Kien Keat.

“We will take a day’s rest before continuing with our training. Our next event is the Sudirman Cup at the end of the month and I will try my best to help the country get to the final.”

The Commonwealth Games gold took home the winners’ cheque for US$9,480 while the Indonesians had to be satisfied with US$4,560.

In a close first game, the Malaysians, with the winds at their back, played a smart tactical game to move the Indonesians all over the court before moving in for the kill.

The ploy worked to perfection as they carved out a 21-16 victory. In the second game, The Malaysians were more aggressive but didn’t have to work too hard after Alvent picked up his injury.

China dump Chen Jin and Wang Lin

Reigning world champions Chen Jin and Wang Lin (pic) have been dropped from the China squad for the Sudirman Cup mixed team championships.
Chen Jin has been in poor form over the past six months while Wang Lin is still regaining full fitness following a ligament surgery last September.
China selected Lin Dan, Bao Chunlai and Chen Long for their men’s singles line-up for the championships in Qingdao from May 22-29.
With Wang Lin out, the women’s singles line-up has Wang Shixian, Wang Xin and Wang Yihan.
The men’s pairs in the team are veterans Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng and the younger Guo Zhendong-Chai Biao while Yu Yang-Wang Xiaoli and Zhao Yunlei-Tian Qing will be the women’s pairs.
For the mixed doubles China opted for Xu Chen-Ma Jin at the expense of Korean Open and Super Series Masters Finals champions Zhang Nan-Zhao Yunlei.
China chief coach Li Yongbo said that Lin Dan would play in all of his matches as it would help the Olympic and three-time world champion adjust his condition and find his best form on China’s road to retaining the title.
“We have not failed to defend the Sudirman Cup in the last three editions of the championships,” he said at a press conference last Saturday.
“But we faced tremendous difficulties in every match and basically 50% of the matches that we won were very close.
“We will have to be well prepared in the face of adversity, especially when playing against strong teams like Indonesia and Malaysia. We must prepare to the fullest.”
The China team left their base in Beijing for Qingdao on May 2 for their final preparations for the championships.

Chong Wei now on course to beat his career best nine titles

The fans adore him. The rivals look at him in awe. And the sponsors just love him.

World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei is enjoying his best years in badminton and with his determination to keep the hot run going for at least one more year, he may nail for Malaysia their first-ever title in the world championships and Olympics.

On Sunday, the 29-year-old Chong Wei captured the Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold title – his fifth this year and a 36th career Open title since he went on the international stage in 2002.

His career best season thus far was last year when he nailed a total of nine titles, including the Commonwealth Games individual gold medal. And he is on track to better the record this season.

The fans flock in droves wherever the megastar goes and his opponents have now rated him as a favourite title contender for the world championships in Wembley, London, from Aug 8-14 and also at the Olympics at the same venue next year.
Thanks for the support: Lee Chong Wei has already won five titles this year.

Chong Wei has also finally beaten his nemesis, Lin Dan of China, to nail a major title at the All-England last March.

Chong Wei is bringing joy but it should not cloud a really big fear in Malaysian badminton – the absence of quality men’s singles players coming through to challenge strongly on the international stage.

In the Malaysia Open GP Gold, the poor showing of four elite shuttlers – Tan Chun Seang, Liew Daren, Chan Kwong Beng and Chong Wei Feng – again showed the huge gulf in the standard between the country’s second stringers and Chong Wei.

Said national coach Rashid Sidek: “I have not seen any players as dedicated and as committed as Chong Wei.

“He may be a superstar now but he has not forgotten the basics – to work hard, to take care of his food intake and sleeping habits. He is respectful and has not let success get to his head.

“And my heart aches for the current group of players we have. They are not following in the footsteps of Chong Wei.”

Several back-up shuttlers like Goh Soon Huat, Mohd Arif Abdul Latif and Misbun Ramdan Misbun showed progress but whether they will be ready to take over the mantle when Chong Wei retires after the London Oly­mpic Games is a big question mark.

“They need more time,” says coach Hendrawan.

The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) will immediately shift their focus from Alor Setar to their emergency general meeting (EGM) on Saturday to appoint their second deputy president.

But instead of channelling their energy to internal politics, as it always has been, it is high time that they give more focus on the development programme of the game in the country or face the humiliation of serving in an association without quality players.

Thanks to Chong Wei, Maybank are coming in a big way as sponsors to piggy ride on his success and it is learnt that the corporate sector will be pumping in about RM5mil for the BAM’s programme.

The bulk of the money should go to the states to revive their grassroots programmes.

Promises have been made in the past that badminton in schools will get priority but sadly, it has all been an empty gong.

Malaysia certainly do not lack talent or enthusiastic youngsters hoping to make it big. But it is in the BAM neglecting state programmes and the transition group of players from the ages of 18 to 22 that are proving to be costly.

Drastic and radical changes are needed to develop and achieve excellence for Malaysian badminton. Otherwise, the fans and sponsors will be leaving the stage too after Chong Wei quits the game.