Badminton: Hafiz and Choong Hann lose, Mew Choo also crashes out
News 9:38 AM
MALAYSIA’S challenge in the singles events was wiped out in the Asian Badminton Championships (ABC) yesterday – but not before some great fighting displays from Mohd Hafiz Hashim and Wong Choong Hann.
The unseeded Hafiz gave another sterling performance at the Stadium Bandaraya but his quarter-final opponent Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia was simply too good.
The Malaysian bowed out 16-21, 17-21 in 40 minutes.
Sony will take on South Korean Park Sung-hwan, who prevailed 17-21, 23-21, 21-17 after a titanic 70-minute battle against Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana.
Hafiz can still walk tall despite his defeat. It was another good performance, coming a day after he beat China’s Bao Chunlai.
“I played well but could not anticipate Sony’s shots as well as I did against Bao. I should have been a little faster,” said the 26-year-old Hafiz.
“But still, my performances here have given me a lot of confidence. My technique and skills are there. My coach (Misbun Sidek) wants me to improve on my physical condition and that is what I will be doing for the next two weeks in preparation for the Thomas Cup Finals.”
Indonesia’s singles coach Hendrawan also felt that it was Sony’s best performance since finishing as World Championships runner-up and Taiwan Open champion last year.
“Like Hafiz, I will also consider this as a comeback performance by Sony. His return to form is timely as he prepares for the Thomas Cup Finals and the Olympic Games (in Beijing),” said Hendrawan.
“Sony’s form dipped after the Taiwan Open (in October last year). But here, Hafiz did him a favour by beating Bao. Now I hope Sony will go all the way.”
In the other quarter-finals, Choong Hann took on Chen Jin with a good attacking game but the China ace showed more determination to win 21-11, 21-18 in a thrilling 47-minute match.
Chen Jin, who is hoping to represent China as the third qualifier in the Olympics, will take on compatriot Lin Dan in today’s semi-finals.
Choong Hann was pleased with his performance despite the defeat.
“I could have pushed it to a rubber game but I lacked finishing. This is something I must work on,” said Choong Hann, the world number 15.
“Overall, I think this has been a fruitful outing for me. It has given me the confidence and I know what needs to be improved for the tasks ahead,” added the 31-year-old.
It was also the end of the road for top women’s singles shuttler Wong Mew Choo, who went down 19-21, 14-21 to China’s Wang Lin in the quarter-finals.
“I was slow and made a lot of mistakes and that frustrated me and affected my game,” said Mew Choo, who reached the semi-finals last year.
Wang Lin will take on Hong Kong’s Yip Pui Yin while top seed Wang Chen will square off against defending champion Jiang Yanjiao of China today.
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 9:38 AM.
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