Tien Minh can spoil Chong Wei’s dream in Hyderabad

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s world number one men singles shuttler Lee Chong Wei will be wise not to take Nguyen Tien Minh lightly in the World Championships after the Viet­na­­mese smashed his way to the Thailand Open men’s singles title on Sunday.

The 26-year-old Tien Minh broke the hearts of the local fans when he stunned Boonsak Ponsana 21-16, 21-13 in the final.

It was Tien Minh’s second Open title in his seven-year career. His other win came from his home tournament last year.

The steady rise of Tien Minh just ahead of the Hyderabad world meet can spell danger for Chong Wei as they are tipped to meet in the third round.

Just last month, Tien Minh did the unthinkable when he defeated Beijing Olympic Games silver medallist Chong Wei in the second round of the Singapore Open.

National chief coach Rashid Sidek admitted that Tien Minh had the tendency to be a spoiler but he did not agree that the Vietnamese could be a big threat to Chong Wei at the world meet.

“There is a disparity in standard between Chong Wei and Tien Minh. I would reckon that Chong Wei’s defeat to this player (at the Singapore Open) as a one-off thing,” said Rashid.

“But having said that, it is wise not to be too confident.

“Tien Minh is shaping up well ahead of the world meet. He is one of the most hard working players that I have met. He can rise to the occasion when least expected.

“If the two players meet, there will be less pressure on the Vietnamese but if Chong Wei play to form he should go through.”

Chong Wei and Tien Minh have realistic chances of clearing their first two rounds without much problem.

The Malaysian takes on Germany’s Dieter Domke in the opening round and will likely play Rajiv Ouseph of England in the second round.

Five-time Vietnam champion Tien Minh meets Peter Koukal of Czech Republic first and will next take on the winner of the match between Brice Leverdez of France and Henrik Toth of Hungary.

In the same half with top seed Chong Wei and Tien Minh are Olympic champion Lin Dan of China and Indonesian Sony Dwi Kuncoro.

Rashid said that Chong Wei, who left for South Korea last week to train with former coach Li Mao, would return home today.

He will compete in the two-day bad­­minton tournament during the Mini Olympic Games, which will begin at Stadium Juara in Bukit Kiara tomorrow.

“I will only get feedback from Misbun (Sidek, national coach) on Chong Wei’s progress in South Korea when they get back,” he added.

Misbun accompanied Chong Wei to Seoul and in his absence, Rashid had been working with top women singles shuttler Wong Mew Choo.

Posted by Lucas Liau on 11:13 AM. Filed under News . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0