Shuttler Wei Feng stuns Chen Jin
News 11:31 AM
PETALING JAYA: Malaysian back-up shuttler Chong Wei Feng (pic) endured a roller-coaster ride in the US$120,000 India Open at Hyderabad.
On Wednesday, Wei Feng was on top of the world when he dumped world No. 4 and All-England champion Chen Jin of China 22-20, 12-21, 21-16 in the second round.
With the win, he became the first back-up player from the Project 2010-12 squad to have beaten a top 10 player in the world.
The 21-year-old Wei Feng’s world, however, came crashing down yesterday,
His hopes of reaching his first-ever quarter-finals in an international tournament were dashed when he lost 16-21, 21-8, 19-21 to England’s Andrew Smith.
However, Wei Feng he can still walk tall.
The Malaysian’s win over Chen Jin could very well derail the latter’s hope of making it to the Beijing Olympic Games.
Chen Jin will now have to make strong comeback in this month’s Asian Badminton Championships (ABC) from April 15-20 in Johor Baru to remain in the top four in the world.
With Wei Feng’s defeat, Malaysia’s challenge in the men’s singles came to an end.
Malaysia’s best bet for honours – Wong Choong Hann – crashed to a 18-21, 14-21 defeat by China’s youngster Lu Yi yesterday.
It was also the end of the road for three senior players – Yeoh Kay Bin and KLRC Bhd duo Lee Tsuen Seng and Sairul Amar Ayob – in the early rounds.
Three other back-up players – Chan Kwong Beng, Liew Daren and Mohd Arif Abdul Latif – were beaten in the opening round.
The Project squad’s chief coach, Rashid Sidek, described Wei Feng’s breakthrough win against a higher ranked player as a sign of his players coming out of their cocoons.
“I have been working with these players since 2005 (January). This (Wei Feng’s win) is the best achievement by a player from my squad,” said Rashid.
“They (these back-up players) have the skills but they have always fallen short of expectations because of their lack of mental strength. I believe that Wei Feng’s win will be a great boost for the players’ morale. Now, they have to learn to be consistent.”
Meanwhile, Malaysia will have one representative each in the women’s singles and doubles events after Julia Wong and Woon Khe Wei-Goh Liu Ying won their respective second round matches yesterday.
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 11:31 AM.
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