PETALING JAYA: Lee Chong Wei is not playing in the Kuala Lumpur Open next week but the world No. 1 is committed to taking part in the India Open from April 26-May 1.

Chong Wei has opted out of the first of the two-leg national badminton circuit from April 7-10 and his absence paves the way for back-up shuttlers Tan Chun Seang, Liew Daren, Mohd Arif Abdul Latif and Chan Kwong Beng to seize the glory.

But Chong Wei will not be so gracious when it comes to the India Open, which will be a world Super Series event for the first time. China are the notable absentees from the tournament in India when entries closed on Monday.

With the likes of Olympic champion Lin Dan and world champion Chen Jin not competing, the stage is set for Chong Wei to live up to his top billing.

Former Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat, top Dane Peter-Gade Christensen, Thai Boonsak Ponsana and South Korea’s Park Sung-hwan are among the world’s top 10 shuttlers in the fray but they are unlikely to pose any serious trouble to Chong Wei if he plays true to his form.

Chong Wei has not failed to reach the final in all the international tournaments he has played in since a quarter-final exit at the world championships in Paris last August.

In total, he captured six titles, including at the Delhi Commonwealth Games last October and in the recent All-England.

“Chong Wei has been the most consistent player on the international stage thus far and we will help him to maintain it,” said national singles coach Rashid Sidek.

“He is more confident with his game after beating Lin Dan at the All-England final. He will go for the India Open and immediately after that the Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold (in Alor Setar from May 3-8). The preparations are tuned towards these back-to-back competitions.”

Rashid has been guiding Chong Wei together with Tey Seu Bock for the last two months since Misbun Sidek quit the national coaching set-up.

The other Malaysian men’s singles entries for the India Open are Chun Seang and Liew Daren.

But they have been listed as reserves and will have to play in the qualifying rounds.

The men’s doubles entries are All-England runners-up Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong, Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-Hoon Thien How and Tan Wee Kiong-Chan Peng Soon.

SEPANG: Lee Chong Wei is skipping the China Masters in Changzhou from Sept 14-19, leaving Malaysia without a representative in the men’s singles competition this year.
Singles coach Misbun Sidek made the decision after discussing with Chong Wei and felt it would be advisable for his charge not to risk aggravating his back injury.
The world No. 1 complained of back pain after his third-round match against India’s Rajiv Ouseph at the world championships in Paris last Wednesday.
The strain proved to be too much for Chong Wei and he went on to suffer an unexpected defeat by former world and Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia in the quarter-finals the following day.
“I want Chong Wei to have more time to recover fully as there are more important tournaments coming up (referring to the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games in October and November respectively),” said Misbun, who returned home from Paris with the rest of the Malaysian team early yesterday morning.
“Chong Wei will have to seek treatment first with the medical expert. We will only know then how serious is his condition and whether he can resume full training. We consulted the doctor over there (Paris) and he said that Chong Wei has a back spasm injury.
“The China Masters is two weeks away. We have submitted his entry but I feel it is better for him not to compete.”
Chong Wei was to be the top seeded for the China Masters, which has attracted a star-studded cast. Newly-crowned world champion Chen Jin and Olympic champion Lin Dan will carry China’s hopes. Dane Peter Gade-Christensen, a semi-finalist in the world championships, is the only top ranked singles player not taking part.
Chong Wei was beaten by Lin Dan in the semi-finals of the China Masters last year.
World Championship silver medallists Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong will also skip the China Masters. They were also the top seeds.
Doubles chief coach Rexy Mainaky said that he wanted the world No. 1 men’s pair to recover and get back their match fitness.
“We also want them to work on strengthening certain areas of their game and not to exert them,” he said.
“They have to get ready for the New Delhi Commonwealth Games. Kien Keat-Boon Heong will not be going to China but they will compete in the Japan Open the following week.”
Kien Keat-Boon Heong have been given a one-week break from training and will be back on court next Monday.
With Danish top pair Lars Paaske-Jonas Ras­mus­sen and Indonesian Olympic champions Markis Ki­­do-Hendra Setiawan not entered for the China Masters, the men’s doubles title is expected to be a fight between South Koreans Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung and China’s Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng, who won the world championship title for a third time last Sunday.

WORLD number one Lee Chong Wei and favourite Lin Dan made shocking quarter-final exits from the World Championships yesterday.
An unexpected back injury saw top seed Chong Wei going down 15-21, 21-11, 12-21 to Indonesian Taufik Hidayat while three-time world champion Lin Dan of China lost tamely 13-21, 13-21 to Park Sung-hwan of South Korea.
The defeat to Taufik crushed Chong Wei’s childhood dream of becoming the country’s first world champion.
This is the third time that he has failed to live up to his tag as the top seed in the world meet.
In the last two occasions, he was also beaten by an Indonesian – Sony Dwi Kuncoro – in Kuala Lumpur 2007 (third round) and Hyderabad 2009 (quarter-finals).
Ironically, Chong Wei’s last defeat to Taufik was also in Paris two years ago in the semi-finals of the French Open.
And the last time Taufik defeated Chong Wei in the world series, the Indonesian went on to win the title in 2005.
Taufik, who will now take on Sung-hwan, has a good chance to make the final again after five years.
Chong Wei concluded that the world meet is jinxed as far as he is concerned.
“I am just not lucky when it comes to the world meet. This has happened too many times,” said a dejected Chong Wei.
“I know this will sound as a lame excuse but I had picked up a back injury. I have never been down with this injury before.”
The Malaysian claimed he sustained the back injury during the easy third round win over Rajiv Ouseph of England.
“My back is swollen. The doctors had a look at it. I thought I could bear the pain but I found it very painful when I jumped. That’s why I was quite slow today,” said Chong Wei.
Chong Wei lacked speed in his opening game to allow Taufik to race to a 21-15 win.
The Malaysian regained his composure to take the second game 21-11 and even led Taufik 10-8 in the decider.
But, according to Chong Wei, the pain worsened at this stage and he just threw the match.
“I am not sure about my plans after this. It is best that I get proper treatment for the injury first,” he said.
QUARTER-FINALS
Men’s singles: Chen Jin (Chn) bt Hsueh Hsuan-yi (Tpe) 22-24, 21-5, 21-13; Taufik Hidayat (Ina) bt Lee Chong Wei (Mas) 21-15, 11-21, 21-12; Park Sung-hwan (Kor) bt Lin Dan (Chn) 21-13, 21-13; Peter Gade-Christensen (Den) bt Kazushi Yamada (Jpn) 21-19, 21-12.
Men’s doubles: Guo Zhendong-Chen Xu (Chn) bt Lars Paaske- Jonas Rasmussen (Den) 21-16, 23-21; Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong (Mas) bt Jung Jae-sung-Lee Yong-dae (Kor) 23-25, 21-13, 21-14.
Women’s singles: Tine Baun (Den) bt Cheng Shao-chieh (Tpe) 21-18, 21-13; Wang Lin (Chn) bt Eriko Hirose (Jpn) 21-16, 21-17; Wang Shixian (Chn) bt Saina Nehwal (Ind) 21-8, 21-14; Wang Xin (Chn) bt Pi Hongyan (Fra) 21-13, 21-15.
Women’s doubles: Ma Jin-Wang Xiaoli (Chn) bt He Jung-eun-Kim Min-jung (Kor) 21-19, 17-21, 21-12; Cheng Shu-Zhao Yunlei (Chn) bt Maeda Miyuki-Satoko Suetsuna (Jpn) 21-8, 21-14.
Mixed doubles: He Hanbin-Yu Yang (Chn) bt Thomas Laybourn-Camilla Rytter Juhl (Den) 21-19, 21-16; Zheng Bo-Ma Jin (Chn) bt Nova Widianto-Lilyana Natsir (Ina) 21-19, 23-21; Ko Sung-hyun-Ha Jung-eun (Kor) bt Diju V-Jwala Gutta (Ind) 21-16, 21-19; Lee Sheng-mu-Chien Yu-chin (Tpe) bt Tao Jiaming-Zhang Jawen (Chn) 14-21, 21-17, 21-18.

PETALING JAYA: World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei could have taken the easy way out by conceding a walkover in the second round of the Japan Open in Tokyo yesterday.

He was suffering from increasing pain on the left knee and although he was trailing 3-11 in the decider against Simon Santoso of Indonesia, Chong Wei continued with the fight. But this time, his perseverance did not pay off and he was beaten 19-21, 21-15, 21-19 in 67 minutes.

Chong Wei said that his efforts all ended in vain because the pain became unbearable at the crucial stages.

“I have aggravated an old injury in this tournament. The pain is in the same area as when I hurt myself during a training session three years ago,” he said in a telephone interview.

“I tried my best and called for time to tape the knee during the rubber game. I could have given up when I was trailing 3-11 but I did not want to lose that easily.

“This is a Yonex-sponsored event and I wanted to give my sponsor something to cheer about. Unfortunately, I had to give up against Simon’s persistent attacks at the end. I did not want to take a big risk by pushing it too hard.”

It was Simon’s first win this year over a highly-ranked player and his reward is a quarter-final match against compatriot and defending champion Sony Dwi Kuncoro today.

Chong Wei said that the defeat by Simon did not mean that his chances to win his first SEA Games individual gold medal in Laos in December had diminished.

The SEA Games competition will have a field of other strong contenders, including Sony, Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand and Nguyen Tien Minh of Vietnam.

“I am confident that I will be in better condition at the SEA Games. I will get proper treatment for this knee injury when I get back home,” he said.

“I am not competing in the Terengganu Open (Sept 30-Oct 3), Denmark Open (Oct 20-25). If I am not in good shape, I may even skip the French Open (Oct 27-Nov 1).

“It will give me ample time to work on my game. I think, Sony will still be the stronger challenger than Simon in the SEA Games.

“For now, it is important to stay free from any injuries. I do not want to take any risk and jeopardise my chances at the SEA Games and the other major tournaments next year, the Thomas Cup Finals, Asian Games and World Championships.”

Tien Minh continued his fine run on the international stage, beating Sho Sasaki 21-10, 21-18 for a quarter-final meeting against another Japanese, Kazeteru Kozai.

The other quarter-final matches will pit Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia against South Korean Park Sung-hwan and China’s Bao Chunlai against Denmark’s Peter-Gade Christensen.

Malaysia’s challenge also ended in the women’s singles when Wong Mew Choo went down 12-21, 21-18, 11-21 to Japanese Eriko Hirose.

PETALING JAYA: World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei will finally do what three-time world champion Lin Dan of China has been doing over the past one year – to make appearances in selected tournaments.

And he has decided to skip the Denmark Open, which will be held in Odense from Oct 20-25, and also an earlier domestic tournament, the Terengganu Open from Sept 30-Oct 3.

The short breaks in his hectic schedule will give him time to work on some areas of his game and peak in selected events.

Former world No. 1 Lin Dan has competed in six international tournaments thus far this year while Chong Wei had featured in 12.

National chief coach Rashid Sidek said: “We have reviewed his schedule and for now, Chong Wei has dropped one international and one local tournament.

“He will stay home during the Denmark Open and concentrate on rising up to the expectation in the French Open. He was a semi-finalist at France last year, and the goal is to go one step better.’

But Chong Wei’s immediate target is to capitalise on the absence of Lin Dan in the Japan Open, which will begin today in Tokyo.

Another Chinese player, Chen Jin, has withdrawn from the tournament. Chong Wei ran out of steam against Lin Dan in the semi-finals of the China Masters last week.

Lin Dan went on to show that having won the world title for the third time in Hyderabad last month had not diminished his fire and hunger to win more tournaments when he tamed Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand to take the title.

Today, Chong Wei will get to gauge where he stands against Boonsak, who played exceptionally well to upset Denmark’s Peter-Gade Christensen and China’s Chen Jin to reach the China Masters final.

The match will also be a sneak preview on what can be expected from both the shuttlers, who will resume their rivalry in the Laos SEA Games in December.

The other Malaysian men’s singles players in the fray are former internationals Wong Choong Hann and Pei Wee Chung, who will take on South Korean Park Sung-hwan and Andrew Smith of England respectively in the first round.

KUALA LUMPUR: A redraw for the men’s singles competition of the China Masters in Changzhou next week may have taken away the smile from world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei.

The top seeded Malaysian now finds world champion Lin Dan of China, who is seeded fourth, in his half of the draw.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) confirmed that yesterday that they opted for a redraw following the withdrawal of world No. 20 Wacha Przemyslaw of Poland.

Usually, the BWF do not conduct a redraw when one or two players pull out of the competition or if they feel that the absence of one player will not affect the draw.

The BWF event manager, V. Venugopal, said: “The tournament referee felt the need for a redraw. They had a good reason to do it and it was carried out yesterday. Only the men’s singles competition was affected.”

National coach Misbun Sidek felt that the redraw would not really affect Chong Wei as he still needed to stay focused on the tasks in the early rounds.

“Yes, the previous draw was much more favourable to Chong Wei. But in the redraw, there are still younger players waiting to scalp him and it will not be easy from the first round,” he said.

Chong Wei will take on Chinese youngster Lu Qicheng in the opening round and he cannot expect to have a walk in the park.

The others in his quarter are talented Thai youngster Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk, Denmark’s Joa-chim Persson and another young Chinese talent, Du Pengyu.

Lin Dan is in the same quarter as South Korean Park Sung-hwan, Hong Kong’s Hu Yun and Taiwanese Hsieh Yu-hsin.

The other half of the draw with second seed Chen Jin are his Chinese compatriot, Bao Chunlai, Dane Peter-Gade Christensen, Thai Boonsak Ponsana and Malaysian veteran Wong Choong Hann.

PETALING JAYA: It will be an early test on Lee Chong Wei’s ability to clinch his first SEA Games men’s singles gold medal when he takes part in the Japan Open, which will be held in Tokyo from Sept 22-27.

The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) plan to sent a squad at full strength to Laos in December to make amends for not winning a single gold medal at the last Games in Korat two years ago.

And in the outing in Tokyo, Chong Wei will have to clear an array of the region’s top shuttlers from the opening round, including Indonesian Sony Dwi Kuncoro, to make it to a third successive final.

In the draw released for the eighth leg of the Super Series, top seed Chong Wei has an opening match against Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana and a win will give him a probable match against Indonesian Simon Santoso.

In his quarter of the draw are defending champion Sony and Thai youngster Tanongsak Saengsomboonsuk.

Former Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat, who is seeded fourth, and former top Malaysian Wong Choong Hann are in the other quarter of the draw.

Choong Hann faces a tough opening round against South Korean Park Sung-hwan.

In the other half of the draw, Taiwan Open champion Nguyen Tien Minh, who is gunning to win honours for Vietnam in the Laos Games, faces a major test against second seed Chen Jin, who is China’s main hope to win the title in the absence of Olympic champion Lin Dan.

Also in the same half are top Dane and third seed Peter-Gade Christensen.

Chong Wei beat Taufik to win the Japan Open title in 2007 but he was beaten by Sony in the final last year.

The BAM general manager, Kenny Goh, said that the coaches had recommended for the top shuttlers to be in the team for the Laos Games.

“Chong Wei and doubles pair Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong will be among those in the team and we will decide on the others later,” he said.

“Not only can we name our top players but there are also places for back-up shuttlers to make up a squad of 10.”

Second seeds Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong, who were the runners-up in their first appearance together in the 2006 Japan Open, will have to overcome world championship runners-up Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung of South Korea to reach the final again.

Also in the same half of the draw are Malaysians Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif.

World champions Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun of China and Olympic champions Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia are in the other half of the draw.

Top Malaysian women’s singles player Wong Mew Choo will be up against a qualifier in the first round. In her path to each the quarter-finals is world champion Lu Lan of China.

PETALING JAYA: The fasting month teaches perseverance.

And world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei has challenged younger compatriot Chan Kwong Beng to persevere in tough training sessions to help him become a world-class player.

The 22-year-old Kwong Beng was reduced to tears last week after receiving a tongue lashing from coach Misbun Sidek for showing a lack of commitment in training. Misbun had chased Kwong Beng out of the training session for two hours.

Chong Wei hoped that Kwong Beng would show better attitude in training after experiencing the harsh treatment from Misbun.

“What Kwong Beng went through is nothing new. I have seen Misbun being angry like this almost four years ago,” said the 27-year-old Chong Wei.

“In fact, I had experienced this when I was younger. Misbun threw me out of training for a week because I took it easy in training.

“So I can understand how Kwong Beng felt. But he should not give up. He should take Misbun’s stern warnings on a positive note.”

Chong Wei added that he had seen improvement in Kwong Beng since they began sparring against each other this year.

At the Macau Open last month, Kwong Beng chalked up his career best win, beating Hong Kong’s Ng Wei in the third round.

“Kwong Beng has provided me with quality sparring sessions together with another back-up player, Lok Chong Chieh. I believe Kwong Beng has a good future,” said Chong Wei.

“But he will not make it if he does not show the desire to improve. He has to change his attitude and not play well only when he feels like it. There is no easy way to success.

“I became the Malaysian champion when I was 22. He is fortunate that Misbun has faith in him and chosen him to spar and train with me on a full-time basis.

“I am willing to part my knowledge and experience to him but it is his loss if he does not make good use of this opportunity.”

Kwong Beng is now ranked 88th in the world and he has yet to win an Open title.

The other players in the back-up squad include Tan Chun Seang, Chong Wei Feng, Liew Daren and Mohd Arif Abdul Latif. But they come under the charge of Indonesia’s former world champion Hendrawan.

PETALING JAYA: Lee Chong Wei has been given the green light to compete in the China Masters in Changzhou following an injury scare last week.

Chong Wei went through MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and an ultra sound scan on Thursday after experiencing pain caused by a swelling at the back of the knee.

The National Sports Institute (NSI) director general, Datuk Dr Ramlan Aziz, said that Chong Wei was wise to seek early treatment.

“I must commend him for seeking professional help as soon as he knew something was wrong. We hope that this approach will become second nature to all our young athletes,” said Ramlan.

Ramlan said that although they had given Chong Wei the nod to compete in China, they would still closely monitor his condition.

“He came in with a swelling on the back of his knee and we found out that there was a tear on the muscle,” he said.

“We believe that there will be no adverse effect on his performance if he continues with training and competition.

“There is no need to stop him from competing but our officials will be there to monitor his progress.

We don’t want him to aggravate the injury.”

Chong Wei is the top seed at the China Masters and in his half of the draw are Bao Chunlai and Chen Long of China, Peter-Gade Christensen of Denmark and Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana.

In the other half are second seed Chen Jin and his Chinese compatriot and world champion Lin Dan, South Korean Park Sung-hwan and Dane Joachim Persson.

PETALING JAYA: World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei’s bid to win his first Open title in China has brightened after receiving a relatively favourable draw yesterday for the China Masters.

Chong Wei is not in the same half of the draw as the two top Chinese shuttlers, world champion Lin Dan and Chen Jin, in the seventh leg of the Super Series, which will be held in Changzhou from Sept 15-20.

Chong Wei, who was he runner-up in the China Open twice, in 2007 and last year, opens against Dane Christian Lind Thomsen.

A win for the Penangite will give him a match against a Chinese youngster — either Gong Weijie or Qiu Yanbo.

In the same quarter are Malaysian veteran Wong Choong Hann and third ranked Chinese Bao Chunlai. Choong Hann has a first-round match against Thai Saensomboonsuk Tanongsak. Dane Peter-Gade Christensen and Thai Boonsak Ponsana are in the other quarter of the draw.

Defending champion Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia, who eliminated Chong Wei in the quarter-finals of the world championships in Hyderabad last month, has withdrawn from the tournament.

In the women’s singles, Malaysia’s sole representative Wong Mew Choo will be hard pressed to get past the early rounds.

Mew Choo has China’s Jiang Yanjiao as her first-round opponent and victory will give her a match against either Chinese world champion and fifth seed Lu Lan or Zhu Lin.

With the withdrawal of the Malaysian top two doubles pairs, Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong and Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif, it will be an uphill task for the independent combinations of Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah and Chan Chong Ming-Chew Choon Eng in carrying the country’s challenge for honours.

Tan Fook-Wan Wah are in the same quarter as world championship runners-up Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung of South Korea while Chong Ming-Choon Eng have a succession of Chinese pairs in their path to the semi-finals.

LEE Chong Wei cruised into the third round but Wong Choong Hann almost joined South Korean Park Sung-hwan on the men’s singles casualty list yesterday.

Top seed Chong Wei had a stroll in the park and took 22 minutes to beat Nigerian Ola Fagbemi 21-14, 21-11.

He will take on Vietnam’s Nguyen Tien Minh today and national coach Misbun Sidek hopes to see his charge get past the third-round barrier. At the last World Championships two years ago, Chong Wei failed to live up to his billing and was eliminated by Indonesian Sony Dwi Kuncoro.

“It will be an important match for Chong Wei. He knows what happened two years ago and I am sure he will not want to repeat it,” said Misbun.

“The match should favour Chong Wei. For now, he is stable and handling himself very well even though the focus and attention have been tremendous on him.

“This Vietnamese is no pushover. He will fight for every shot and it will be the first real test for Chong Wei.”

And on the overall performances of the shuttlers in the competition, Misbun said that several players, among them Peter-Gade Christensen of Denmark, China’s Lin Dan and Sony, had changed some of the techniques in their game.

“They have a different approach and have added more variety in their shots. They have certainly moved one step better in the way they are playing here. We have to be on a look out for these players,” he added.

While Chong Wei breezed into the third round, veteran Choong Hann was caught off guard by a fiery Raul Must of Estonia but fortunately his experience saw him through with a 21-12, 7-21, 21-16 win in 55 minutes.

“I have played against him before but this was certainly the toughest. After the easy win in the first game, I took him lightly,” said Choong Hann.

“But he was on form in the second game. His net play was top class and it made me quite nervous. He kept the pressure in the rubber too. For­tu­nately, I survived the critical situation.”

Choong Hann added that the tough match had warmed him up for the match against China’s Chen Jin today.

“I have lost to him twice at the Malaysian Open (2007) and the ABC (Asian Championships last year). I hope I have saved my best to play against him tomorrow,” he said.

Unlike Choong Hann, eighth seed Sung-hwan was unable to save himself, going down to a 16-21, 21-17, 15-21 defeat by Denmark’s Jan O. Jorgensen.

PLAYING in the Gachibowli Stadium can be quite tricky, says world No. 1 men’s singles shuttler Lee Chong Wei.

“There is draught in the stadium from all directions. But all the players will have to get used to it,” he said.

Yesterday, Chong Wei and the Malaysian team spent two hours at the venue for the World Championships, which will begin tomorrow.

“Everyone will have to learn to adapt. But it is certainly not as windy as in the Indian Open (in April),” he said.

“So far, everything is okay and we are well taken care of. Our team chefs served us with a good meal today.”

National singles coach Misbun Sidek was also pleased to see that the players had adapted quickly to the situation in Hyderabad.

“No one has any complaints so far. They have been diligently doing what is required of them. They had a good workout today,” he said.

KUALA LUMPUR: A 10-day distraction-free training stint in South Korea has put world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei in the right frame of mind for the World Championships, which will be held in Hyderabad, India, from Aug 10-16.

He also managed to get two things done while in Seoul – get tips from his former coach Li Mao and consult his former physician Zhou Wen Wu about his back injury.

Chong Wei said that he also sparred with South Korea’s top singles shuttler Park Sung-hwan and compatriot Chan Kwong Beng.

“I am happy that my coach (Misbun Sidek) took me to South Korea. It is not that I do not enjoy training here but I just wanted some time to relax my mind,” said Chong Wei.

“You will not believe this but my handphone was silent most of the time. There were no major activities and I did not have to entertain many requests for meals and drinks. It was simply all about badminton.”

He was also full of praise for the hospitality of the Koreans.

“I was treated as one of them there. The coaches – Misbun and Li Mao – have a good relationship. It was also good to be exposed to the Korean way of training.

“Now I understand their culture better,” he said.

China-born orthopaedic Wen Wu was with the National Sports Council (NSC) when he treated Chong Wei two years ago. He is now a doctor with the South Korean team.

“It was good to catch up with Dr Zhou.

“He had a look at my back injury (which Chong Wei picked up during the Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold in Johor Baru last month). I am almost 90% better now,” he said.

Chong Wei also refuted claims that he undermined Misbun’s credibility as a coach with his request to train in South Korea.

“I’ve always had confidence in my coach. Misbun has always been an important figure in my career and he will always be. If not, he would not even have followed me to Seoul,” he said.

“Overall, the trip to Seoul has been beneficial in my preparation for the world meet.”

A day after arriving from Seoul, he competed in the Mini Olympic Games at Stadium Juara in Bukit Kiara yesterday and reached the final without any problems yesterday.

He beat former internationals Mohd Roslin Hashim and Sairul Amar Ayob to set up a meeting with Mohd Hafiz Hashim in the final.

Hafiz, who is currently training under Indonesian Hendrawan, showed more urgency in his wins over Kuan Beng Hong (quarter-finals) and Wong Choong Hann (semi-final) yesterday.

KUALA LUMPUR: For three days now, the shuttlers and their coaches have to work in a half-lit Juara Stadium in Bukit Kiara.

And singles coach Misbun Sidek is getting restless. He wants the faulty lighting system to be repaired immediately and everything else to be in order as far as the facilities are concerned for his players to prepare for the World Championships without any hiccups.

The World Championships will be held in Hyderabad from Aug 10-16.

One could sense the sarcasm in his voice when Misbun said yesterday that was certainly not Malaysia’s strategy to train in the dark.

“We encountered the problem on Friday and Saturday and we thought that the matter would be fixed but it was the same situation today,” he said.

“I am unhappy with this but I have accepted that it was beyond our control and the players have continued with training without complaints.

“But if this prolongs, I will not be able to maximise the time I have with the players in training. In fact, for now, I cannot conduct matchplay because of poor visibility. I have to focus only on working on the skills.”

Only one part of the stadium is brightly lit and it has also disrupted the training schedules of all the other departments in the training centre.

“Rexy (Mainaky, the doubles chief coach) has to wait for the singles players to finish training before he begins his session. So far, we have to make do with the situation but this is not proper, especially in a national training centre,” said Misbun.

The BAM general manager, Kenny Goh, said that work was taking place to restore order at the training centre.

“Most of the lights are not functioning. We were told that there were problems with the cables.

“The management of the stadium are looking into the matter and it should be okay in a few days,” he said.

Kenny added that they would be ready with a back-up plan if the problem persisted.

“We will look at another place for the players to train if the situation remains the same,” he said.

Kenny, however, hoped that the lights will be fixed soon, especially when the BAM are staging the Asian Junior Championships at the stadium, beginning on Sunday.

PETALING JAYA: Intimidation from the Indonesian fans did not stop Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei from defeating local favourite Taufik Hidayat to lift the Indonesia Open men’s singles title at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta yesterday.

The world No. 1 carved out a stunning 21-9, 21-14 win over Taufik to justify his top billing in the eighth leg of the Super Series. It was the second time that Chong Wei won the title after 2007.

Chong Wei was in total command of the match against the six-time Indonesian Open champion, who has left the national team to fend on his own as an independent player.

The win for Chong Wei certainly made up for the disappointment of losing to Vietnamese Nguyen Tien Minh in the second round of the preceding Singapore Open.

National singles chief coach Rashid Sidek was happy with Chong Wei’s quick rebound in form.

”Chong Wei showed strong mental strength today. He did not let the spectators get to him. Instead, he was confident all the way,” he said.

“Even a short spell in the second game did not get him down. Instead, he showed the true quality of a world No. 1 player in his game against Taufik.

“It is a great day for Malaysia. It is the first time that we have won two titles in the Indonesia Open.”

Malaysia’s other title came in the women’s doubles through world No. 1 Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty, who defeated Cheng Shu-Zhao Yunley of China.

On the next assignment in the Malaysian Open Gold Grand Prix, which begins on Wednesday in Johor Baru, Rashid predicts another final encounter between Chong Wei and Taufik.

“They are the top two seeds and barring any upsets and fatigue, I hope Chong Wei can go all the way to win the Open at home too,” he said.

“Chong Wei definitely played better than he did in the Singapore Open. He is certainly shaping up well for the world championships (in India in August).”

Meanwhile, Lee Yong-dae of South Korea made up for his disappointment in the mixed doubles by winning the men’s doubles title with Jung Jae-sung. The duo played superbly to beat China’s Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng 21-15, 21-18 in a tight 43-minute battle.

Earlier, Yong-dae and his Olympic Games gold medal-winning mixed doubles partner, Lee Hyo-jung, went down 17-21, 21-8, 16-21 to China’s Zheng Bo-Ma Jin.