Chong Wei blasts first round opponent and says he will not let his guard down

Posted by Lucas Liau Lee Chong Wei, News 12:29 PM

PETALING JAYA: World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei, who is aiming to make a quick rebound after his early exit in the Singapore Open last week, showed his resolve by taking just 28 minutes to brush aside Germany’s Marc Zwiebler in the first round of the Indonesia Open in Jakarta yesterday.

And next in line for Chong Wei is compatriot Mohd Hafiz Hashim, who slogged to beat Danish qualifier Hans Kristian Vittinghus 21-15, 20-22, 21-16.

The next battle: Defending champion Sony Dwi Kuncoro will face Wong Choon Hann in the second round. - AFP

Also through to the second round was veteran Wong Choon Hann, who earned a second-round match against defending champion Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia after beating Thailand’s Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-17, 21-14 yesterday.

Kuan Beng Hong’s challenge fizzled out with a tame defeat 11-21, 11-21 defeat by sixth seed Chen Jin of China.

Although the fitter Chong Wei is expected to prevail over Hafiz, the former is not taking anything for granted, especially after a second-round defeat by Vietnam’s Nguyen Tien Minh in Singapore.

The last time Chong Wei lost to Hafiz was in the Singapore Open in 2007 but he bounced back to win the Indonesia Open the following week.

“I have not played against him this year and I don’t know whether he is fired up for the match. I will take each match as it comes and try to commit fewer mistakes,” said Chong Wei.

“It’s important to do well here as I want to remain in the top two ranking ahead of the world championships in August.”

Chong Wei’s route to the semi-finals for a projected match against Olympic champion Lin Dan has brightened with the withdrawal of Singapore Open champion Bao Chunlai of China.

With Chunlai out of the way, Chong Wei has in the quarter-final path either Indonesian Simon Santoso or South Korean Park Sung-hwan. He has a good track record against both players.

Malaysia’s interest in the women’s singles ended after Wong Mew Choo was beaten 18-21, 17-21 by South Korea’s Kim Moon-hi.

In the mixed doubles, Mohd Razif Abdul Latif-Woon Khe Wei and Koo Kien Keat-Ng Hui Lin had to go the distance to clear their first-round hurdles.

Razif-Khe Wei beat Thais Songphon Anugritayawon-Kunchala Voravichitchaikul 22-24, 21-18, 22-20 while Kien Keat-Hui Lin also had to come from behind to defeat India’s Diju Valiyaveetil-Jwala Gutta 13-21, 21-16, 21-19.

In the women’s doubles, top seeds Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty, who drew a first-round bye, will be up against India’s Gutta-Ashwini Ponnappa today for a place in the quarter-finals.