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Hendrawan wants his boys to go all out at the Kedah Open

Posted by Lucas Liau Latest News 4:52 PM

ALOR SETAR: National badminton singles back-up coach Hendrawan just wants his boys to try their best in the Kedah Open, which begins today.
With the exception of Goh Soon Huat, who withdrew at the last minute due to an injury, Hendrawan will have seven players at the Kedah Open – Mohd Arif Abdul Latif, Iskandar Zulkarnian Zainuddin, Mohd Syawal Ismail, Loh Wei Sheng, Kuan Kam Chung, Lim Fang Yang and Misbun Ramdan Misbun.
“They have been working hard in training and I have seen the improvements they have made despite the lack of results” said Hendrawan after a training session yesterday.
“Arif, for example, did very well to reach the third round of the Thailand Open GP Gold ... he was just unlucky in the end.
“But I believe my boys still have time on their side and they will produce results soon.
“This Kedah Open will be a good test for them. It is rare that all the top players, like (Lee) Chong Wei, (Wong) Choong Hann and Mohd Hafiz (Hashim), will be playing.”
Hendrawan, however, is aware that his boys will face a tough time and that except for Arif, the rest are not expected to make it through to the quarter-finals.
Arif will face Selangor’s Ho Khee Kong in the first round, with the possibility of facing either Syawal or Kedah’s Lok Chong Chieh in the next round.
If he gets past it, he could face either Zulfadli Zulkifli, who recently won the Asian Juniors on Saturday, or former national shuttler Hafiz in the quarter-finals.
Last year’s Asian Juniors runner-up Wei Sheng will play against Negri Sembilan’s Hoo Kim Long in the first round before world No. 1 and top seed Chong Wei, who has a first round bye, awaits him next.
This is the last tournament for Chong Wei before he leaves for a 10-day centralised training stint at the Bath University (from July 27-Aug 5) ahead of the World Championships in London (from Aug 8-14).
Chong Wei is tipped to meet second seed Choong Hann in the Kedah Open final.
The Kedah Open is the second leg of the National Circuit and will feature all the World Championships-bound players, with the exception of women’s doubles shuttler Wong Pei Tty, who is taking a break to prevent further injuries to her knee.