i’m saimatkong

It was a good fight with the Korean but I think Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari still need to be more consistent and more training! They could have won the Championship, Malaysia Boleh!

KUALA LUMPUR: Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari let slip the chance to become the country’s most successful shuttlers in Super Series tournaments this year when they narrowly lost in the final of the Hong Kong Open yesterday.

Zakry-Fairuzizuan were beaten 23-25, 21-19, 20-22 by South Koreans Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung after putting up a tenacious fight in an nail-biting one-hour final match.

If not for several sloppy and poor returns in the crucial stage, Zakry-Fairuzizuan could have trooped out with their third Super Series title this season after the back-to-back win in Singapore and Indonesia in June.

The Hong Kong Open is the 12th and final leg of the Super Series this season and one other Malaysian shuttler won two titles this year — world number one Lee Chong Wei in the men’s singles of the Malaysia and Singapore Opens.

Fairuzizuan was happy that they were able to give the more fancied Koreans a run for their money.

The victors: The South Korean pair of Jung Jae-sung (left) and Lee Yong-dae defeated Mohd Fairuzizuan and Mohd Zakry 25-23, 19-21, 22-20 in the final of the Hong Kong Open yesterday

“We are aware that they are fast and deadly in their attacks. Instead of lifting the shuttle, we kept it low. Our tactic worked and we were able to keep pace with them,” said Fairuzizuan in a telephone interview.

“In the past, we had difficulty returning their attacks but this time, we managed to make them sweat on several occasions. But at the end, we put ourselves in trouble. In our excitement to win, we made several mistakes.”

Fairuzizuan, however, chose to look at the bright side.

“This is our best performance after a long time. We needed this to boost our morale. At least, we know that we have what it takes to give the top players a good fight,” he said.

“Now we must try to be consistent. It will be good if we can reach at least the quarter-finals in all other future tournaments.”

Zakry, however, was frustrated over the narrow defeat.

“It’s frustrating to make silly mistakes when it mattered most. Our coach (Rexy Mainaky) was calling out for us to relax and play a more patient game. But we lost control towards the end,” he said.

“But this defeat has fuelled the fire in me to go all out at the Super Series Masters Finals (in Kota Kinabalu from Dec 18-21). It will be our last tournament this year and we want to win it.”

The Finals feature eight pairs and Zakry-Fairuzizuan qualified as the second ranked combination in the Series standings.

Meanwhile, China’s badminton couple, Lin Dan and Xie Xingfang, both lost in the final. Lin Dan was beaten 9-21, 21-9, 17-21 by compatriot Chen Jin while Xingfang fell to a 16-21, 21-10, 10-21 defeat by Wang Chen of Hong Kong.

Source : TheStar

Rexy: Duo are serious contenders at Masters Finals

KUALA LUMPUR: The fighting displays of Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif in the Hong Kong Open yesterday has brought back the smile on the face of national doubles chief coach Rexy Mainaky.

And Rexy believes that the duo can do even better at the Super Series Masters Finals, which will be held in Kota Kinabalu from Dec 18-21.

Yesterday, Fairuzizuan-Zakry put up a great fight before losing 23-25, 21-19, 20-22 to South Koreans Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung in a thrilling final that lasted for an hour.

Despite the defeat, Fairuzizuan-Zakry showed that they were back in form after going through a slump over the last five months.

There had been no outstanding results since winning back-to-back Open titles in Singapore and Indonesia in June.

Rexy said that they could have won the title but for Zakry’s poor shots in the crucial stages of the rubber game.

“Zakry realised his mistakes. He took a risk with fancy strokes and they cost the pair dearly, especially when they were leading 16-14,” said Rexy in a telephone interview.

“They should have kept the rally going. Yong-dae was tired and they failed to take advantage of it. On top of that, luck was also not on their side.”

But Rexy was happy that the duo held the Koreans by their throats.

“It was nice to see Fairuzizuan and Zakry getting back their rhythm. It should motivate them to do even better against all the established pairs,” he said.

“I think, they will challenge strongly for the title at the Super Series Masters Finals. But they must not take it easy in training when they get back home. They must continue to work hard.”

Source : TheStar

Macau Open Badminton Championships has already been organizing since 2006. This World Grand Prix event is sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) which carries a total prize money of US$120,000.

This is a world class event where all the world’s top and finest players augurs well for the development of the sport of badminton in Macau, which is also a milestone in BWF to make badminton the fastest racquet sport in the world.

Hosting such large-scale badminton event not only could bring the local community opportunity to watch top level competitors but also to boost the sports and tourism industry which Macau Government strongly supports.

The vision of Badminton Federation of Macau (BFM) is to continuously make this championship an annually held gala to further promote badminton to be the core sport of the local community and to put Macau’s badminton in the eyes of the world.

Macau Grand Prix Gold 2008 Official Site

MACAU GRAND PRIX GOLD 2008 Semi Finals Results

Men’s Single
Taufik HIDAYAT, Indonesia vs Kuan Beng Hong, Malaysia - Taufik won, 21-11 || 21-12
Lee Chong Wei, Malaysia vs Alamsyah YUNUS, Indonesia - Lee Chong Wei won, 21-13 || 21-14

Men’s Double
Koo Kien Keat & Tan Boon Heong, Malaysia vs Fernando KURNIAWAN & Lingga LIE, Indonesia - Koo Kien Keat & Tan Boon Heong won, 21-14 || 25-23
Chieh Min FANG & Sheng Mu LEE, Taipei vs Chan Chong Ming & Chew Choon Eng, Malaysia - Chieh Min FANG & Sheng Mu LEE won, 21-18 || 14-21 || 21-11

Too bad Chan Chong Ming & Chew Choon Eng from Malaysia lost if not we are expecting all Malaysian Final in MACAU GRAND PRIX GOLD 2008!

Women’s Single
Julia Wong Pei Xian vs Pui Yin YIP, Hong Kong - Julia won, 17-21 || 23-21 || 21-17

Women’s Double
Jin MA & Xiaoli WANG, China vs Ng Hui Lin & Woon Khe Wei, Malaysia - Jin MA & Xiaoli WANG won, 21-12 || 21-12

MACAU GRAND PRIX GOLD 2008 Finals

2.00pm, 4th October 2008

Lee Chong Wei left a message at his own blog, hopefully Datuk Lee can beat Taufik again.

I depart for tournaments again - Japan, China & Macao.

Will definitely try my best!

Regards, Lee Chong Wei

我出发了，这次是三个比赛，接连举行—日本，中国和澳门！

我一定会加油！

李宗伟

Source : Lee Chong Wei’s Blog

Previous encounter Lee Chong Wei vs Taufik Hidayat

Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia (R) shows off his victory plate beside silver medalist Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia (L) after their men’s singles final match in the Japan Open badminton tournament in Tokyo, 16 September 2007. Fourth-seeded Lee beat Hidayat 22-20, 19-21, 21-19

1. Starting at 2:00 PM
Mix Double
Yohan Hadikusumo WIRATAMA & Hoi Wah CHAU [Hong Kong] vs Chen XU & Yunlei ZHAO [China]

2.Followed by
Women’s Single
Mi ZHOU [Hong Kong] vs Julia Wong Pei Xian [Malaysia]

3. Followed by
Men’s Double
Koo Kien Keat & Tan Boon Heong [Malaysia] vs Chieh Min FANG & Sheng Mu LEE [Taipei]

4. Followed by
Women’s Double
Jin MA & Xiaoli WANG [China] vs Shu CHENG & Yunlei ZHAO [China]

5. Followed by
Men’s Single
Lee Chong Wei [Malaysia], vs Taufik HIDAYAT [Indonesia]

Watch it live @ Astro SuperSport Channel 811.
For live streaming of the MACAU GRAND PRIX GOLD 2008 Final, you may try PPLive or PPStream or CCTV5 or Live Score

Lin Dan Won! He is “Super Dan”!

Lee Chong Wei with dejected and upset look.

Lee Chong Wei Lost!

Lee Chong Wei Lost To Lin Dan again! Sigh. Was very disappointed. From the start, Lee Chong Wei already showed that he was over power by China Lin Dan and the China crowd. Always shouting “Lin Dan Jia You - 林丹加油”… I think Lee Chong Wei wanted to hear Malaysia Boleh but … Lee Chong Wei too nervous and stressed out. Nothing that we could do, Lee Chong Wei only managed to win silver medal in the badminton men’s singles after losing in the final to China’s Lin Dan 12-21, 8-2.

He could not keep his steps and skills and was over power and fully in control by Lin Dan. He could not break Lin Dan speed and skills. Work harder Mr. Lee.

Anyway still proud and congrats to Lee Chong Wei. RM300,000.00 in his pocket d. All the best and keep your training and trash Lin Dan in the next meet. Go LCW!

Silver medal for Chong Wei

BEIJING: Lee Chong Wei won the silver medal in the badminton men’s singles after losing in the final to China’s Lin Dan 12-21, 8-21.

The world No 2 lost in two straight sets, faltering to Lin Dan, who remains the top men’s singles shuttler in the world.

In previous clashes between the two, Lin Dan had won nine times while Chong Wei had won five times.

The last time a Malaysian shuttler won a medal at the Olympics was in Atlanta in 1996 when Rashid Sidek took the bronze in the men’s singles and Cheah Soon Kit-Yap Kim Hock won the silver for the men’s doubles.

Rashid’s brothers Razif and Jailani won Malaysia’s first Olympic medal in Barcelona, Spain, in 1992 when they won a bronze in the men’s doubles.

Chong Wei got to the final by beating South Korean Lee Hyun-il, 21-18, 13-21, 21-13, while Lin Dan defeated fellow countryman Chen Jin in the semi-final, 21-12 , 21-18.

Despite failing to get the gold medal, Chong Wei is set to obtain RM300,000 from the Government for winning the silver medal. The Government had promised RM1mil as an incentive to any athlete who returns with an Olympic gold medal; RM300,000 for silver and RM100,000 for bronze.

Source : TheStar

Chong Wei offers no excuse after tame loss to Lin Dan

The expectations of the whole nation to bring back Malaysia’s first-ever Olympic gold medal proved to be too heavy a burden for Lee Chong Wei.

He failed to bring out his best and blew the chance to win the RM1mil reward for gold – suffering a 12-21, 8-21 thrashing by top seed Lin Dan of China in the men’s singles final at the Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium last night.

Chong Wei was erratic on court. He made half-court returns and the strong net-play performance he showed in earlier rounds was missing from his game.

Malaysian shuttler Lee Chong Wei striking a pensive mood with the silver medal around his neck after the men’s single badminton final against Lin Dan of China. - Kamarul Ariffin/The Star

Lin Dan pulled away from 8-3 to 16-8 and wrapped up the first game in 20 minutes. The two-time world champion’s confidence grew as he took control in the second game and was already up 8-0 before Chong Wei picked up his first point.

The slouched shoulders and grim look were telling as Chong Wei eventually conceded defeat in 19 minutes.

Despite the tame loss, Chong Wei will receive RM300,000 from the government for securing the silver medal. He will also enjoy a reward of RM3,000 monthly under the Olympic incentive scheme and it will take effect from next month.

The Olympic silver medal from Chong Wei is still the first for Malaysia in 12 years.

The pressure was on Lin Dan to ensure China match their three-gold haul from the 2004 Athens Games.

And he let out a giant scream of delight after securing the winning point while Chong Wei was left pondering on what might have been.

“I tried to follow his speed at the start but he was in total control. My heart wanted to take him on but I just could not bring it out,” said the second seeded Malaysian.

On what coach Misbun Sidek told him before the start of the second game, Chong Wei said: “He told me to play a faster game but I could not follow. But there’s no excuse for losing. This is my worst defeat by him.”

On whether he would still aim to play in the 2012 London Olympics, Chong Wei said: “I will have to wait and see first after the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou.”

Lin Dan, who became the first men’s singles player to win the Olympic title as the top seed, said he had sleepless nights thinking about delivering the gold for China.

“I concentrated hard on trying to play a stable game each time. I am glad I was able to do it here,” he said.

Although Chong Wei lost, Badminton Association of Malaysia president Datuk Mohd Nadzmi Salleh hoped that his success to make the final would inspire younger players.

“Although he did not win, I am happy that Chong Wei has made it to such a level. We will try again in London Olympics in four years’ time but the important thing is we have to start planning now. We have to bring in our juniors into the national set-up,” he said.

Source : TheStar

‘Super Dan’ lives up to his World No. 1 rank

(BEIJING, August 17) — Men’s Singles World No. 1 Lin Dan of China thrashed Malaysia’s World No. 2 Lee Chong-wei 21-12, 21-8 to win the gold in the Beijing Olympic Badminton tournament on Sunday, August 17.

The anticipated heart-pounding dream final turned out to be a frustrating exit for Lee, who was bidding for Malaysia’s first Olympic gold.

“I suffered a lot of pressure tonight but I do not want to use it as an excuse for my defeat,” he said.

Maybe it was the pressure that made a normally sharp Lee lose his edge on court and essentially provide no match for Super Dan’s quickly-adapted strategies and crosscourt smashes.

In the first game Lin raced into a 7-1 lead. Eager to close the gap, Lee made too many unforced errors, enabling the World No. 1 to stretch his winning margin to 16-8 before closing out the game 21-12.

Lin continued to attack Lee in the second game, opening up an 8-0 lead and forcing his opponent to chase shuttles to all four corners of the court before killing rallies off with his smash. As the game progressed, Lee simply had no answers to Lin’s speed and the Chinese left-hander closed out the match in just 41 minutes.

“I have tried my best but Lin Dan played perfectly tonight,” said Malaysian sport icon Lee. “I couldn’t match his shuttle speed. He was much stronger than me and controlled the whole match.”

“At the end of the match it is not who is playing at a higher level, it is all about who is mentally stronger,” Lee commented on his loss.

“I felt a lot of pressure playing in front of my home crowd,” said an exhilarated Lin. “I thought it would be difficult to play the match and the pressure of the crowd might even be to my disadvantage, but I played well.

Source : beijing2008.cn

Malaysia’s top women doubles shuttlers Wong Pei Tty-Chin Eei Hui received a timely boost ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games when they powered into the final of the Thailand Open in Bangkok today but their experience and teamwork is still not the best to beat China’s Yang Wei-Zhang Jiewen, whom they have never beaten in nine meetings.

Although in the opening game, Wong Pei Tty / Chin Eei Hui performed very well and beat Yang Wei-Zhang Jiewen 15-21, but it was not their luck to win the 2nd and rubber set in this SCG Thailand Badminton Grand Prix Gold 2008. They lost their confidence and did not perform very well, everyone expect to see a big win by the underdog but they did not make it in the second and rubber game. They lost 21-13 in second game and 21-13 in the rubber game.

Hope they will gain enough experience and knowledge and partnership for their coming game and Olympic which is just 40days away.

In the men’s double and men’s single Malaysia did not qualified for final as we did not send our top players to compete in this Thailand Open.

Final Results
Men’s Single won by China’s Lin Dan 17-21, 21-15, 21-13 against Thailand, Boonsak PONSANA

Women’s Single won by China’s Xie Xingfang 26-24, 21-7 against own team mate, Lu Lan

Men’s Double won by China’s Chai Yun / Fu Haifeng 21-17, Retired against own team mate Guo Zhendong / Xie Zhongbo

Women’s Double won by Yang Wei / Zhang Jiewen 15-21, 21-13, 21-13 against Malaysia’s Wong Pei Tty / Chin Eei Hui

Mix Double won by China’s Xie Zhongbo / Yawen ZHANG 23-25, 21-10, 23-21 against He Hanbin / Yang (F) YU

What I can say is All the title was sapu by China as most of the matches is China vs China. If Malaysia were to sent out all the top players like Lee Chong Wei, Wong Mew Choo, Khoo Kien Kiat / Tan Boon Heong, we should be in final and maybe getting the cup? Malaysia Boleh!

Coach Pang happy with Eei Hui-Pei Tty despite final loss

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty did not win at the Thailand Open yesterday but as far as coach Pang Cheh Chang is concerned, the duo succeeded in their task to forge a better understanding ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August.

A first Open title continued to elude the top Malaysian women’s pair, going down 21-15, 13-21, 13-21 to Zhang Jiewen-Yang Wei of China in a 49-minute final. But they did a creditable job to take the first game off the top seeds.

Despite the defeat, Cheh Chang said that Eei Hui-Pei Tty certainly lifted their spirits ahead of the Beijing Games with their performance in the Thailand Open.

“This was their third back-to-back tournament. They competed but struggled in Singapore and Indonesia,” he said in a telephone interview from Bangkok yesterday.

“The reason we listed them for the Thailand Open was for them to find the missing link in their partnership. They found their rhythm here. Taking one game off the world number one today will give them the confidence to take on the world’s best.”

Eei Hui-Pei Tty will resume work to prepare for the Olympics after a three-day break. Eei Hui will be undergoing treatment for knee pains, which hampered her performance yesterday.

source: TheStar.com.my

Latest Update of Thomas Cup & Uber Cup Updates

Draw :

Thomas Cup

Group A - China [1], Canada, Nigeria
Group B - Malaysia [3], South Korea, England
Group C - Denmark [4], Japan, New Zealand
Group D - Indonesia [2], Thailand, Germany

Uber Cup

Group A -China [1], Germany, USA
Group B - South Korea [3], Hong Kong, South Africa
Group C - Malaysia [4], Denmark, New Zealand
Group D - Japan [2], Indonesia, Netherlands

Live Broadcast

Thomas & Uber Cup 2008 ( Astro Super Sport Channel 816)

11 May 1400 Day 1: Session 2 Live
11 May 1900 Day 1: Session 3 Live
12 May 1400 Day 2: Session 2 Live
12 May 1900 Day 2: Session 3 Live
13 May 1400 Day 3: Session 1 Live
13 May 1900 Day 3: Session 2 Live
14 May 1400 Day 4: Quarter Finals: Session 1 Live
14 May 1900 Day 4: Quarter Finals: Session 2 Live
15 May 1400 Day 5: Uber Cup 2008: Semi Finals Live
15 May 1900 Day 5: Uber Cup 2008: Semi Finals Live
16 May 1400 Day 6: Thomas Cup 2008: Semi Finals Live
16 May 1900 Day 6: Thomas Cup 2008: Semi Finals Live
17 May 1900 Day 7: Uber Cup 2008 Finals Live
18 May 1900 Day 8: Thomas Cup 2008 Finals Live

Just finished the match between Malaysian Team and Korean Team. It’s no fun at all. Korean reshuffle their line up for singles and double just to avoid Chian in quarter final. Is there any sportsmanship there? We Malaysian are all geared up to beat Korean. Malaysia won 4-1. It’s no fun seeing double player playing single against us and it’s really not sporting at all in the arrangement. We just won them easily. Now Malaysia are top of the group. Hopefully we can take back the Cup as the last we won Thomas cup is 16years ago!

Thomas Cup Result for 12 May
Chong Wei Lee[MAS] - [KOR] Seung Mo Shon 21-14, 21-14
Choong Hann Wong [MAS] - [KOR] Ji Hoon Hong 21-14, 21-10
Wan Wah Lee [MAS] Tan Fook Choong [MAS] - [KOR] Jae Sung Jung [KOR] Jae Jin Lee 22-20, 10-21, 16-21
Hafiz Hashim Muhammad [MAS] - [KOR] Ji Man Hwang 21-5, 21-11
Kien Keat Koo [MAS] Boon Heong Tan [MAS] - [KOR] Yong Dae Lee [KOR] Ji Hoon Hong 23-21, 21-19

But for Malaysian Women team in Uber Cup, we lost 2-3 to Denmark. Even thought I did not watch Wong Mew Choo in action lost but she did put up a good fight I guess. All the best.

Uber Cup Result for 12 May
Mew Choo Wong [MAS] - [DEN] Tine Rasmussen 21-19, 19-21, 14-21
Eei Hui Chin [MAS] Pei Tty Wong MAS[MAS] - [DEN] Kamilla Rytter Juhl [DEN] Marie Ropke 22-20, 21-16
Wong Pei Xian Julia [MAS] - [DEN] Nanna Brosolat Jensen 21-13, 19-21, 19-21
Pek Siah Lim [MAS] Hui Lin Ng [MAS] - [DEN] Christinna Pedersen [DEN] Mie Schjott Kristensen 18-21, 18-21
Cheah Li Ya Lydia [MAS] - [DEN] Camilla Sorensen 21-11, 21-14

Live Streaming : http://www.imediabiz.tv/ or http://www.tv3.com.my/thomascup
TV3 live streaming and result update for Thomas Cup and Urber Cup pretty impressive. (If you don’t have Astro Super Sport Package, view the match online here.)
Live Score / Results : View live score using Tournament Software a nice website.

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PETALING JAYA: It’s confirmed. Nine badminton players will represent Malaysia at the Olympic Games in August.

Although smaller in quantity compared to the squad that featured at the 2004 Athens Games, national chief coach Yap Kim Hock feels that the current batch had the quality to challenge for medals.

Yesterday, it was confirmed that men’s singles players Lee Chong Wei (world No. 2) and Wong Choong Hann (14th) had qualified after making the top 16 in the world rankings.

The May 1 rankings will be used to determine the qualifiers for the Olympics.

Malaysia will not have any representatives in the mixed doubles as their current best pair of Tan Wee Kiong-Woon Khe Wei are only ranked 35th in the world.

Kim Hock said that Malaysia could expect a good fight in every event – the men’s and women’s singles and doubles events.

“This time we have depth in our Olympic squad. There is a chance in the men’s event and, for the first time, we can also hope for something in the women’s event,” said Kim Hock.

Women’s shuttler Wong Mew Choo and doubles pair Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty will represent Malaysia.

However, both will not be seeded at the Games as they are only ranked 10th in the world.

Malaysia have returned home empty-handed from two previous Olympic Games – in Athens and Sydney. So far, only badminton has contributed medals in the Olympics at the first two editions – bronze (Razif-Jalani Sidek) in Barcelona 1992 and a silver (Cheah Soon Kit-Soo Beng Kiang) and bronze (Rashid Sidek) in Atlanta 1996.

The Qualifiers

Men’s singles: Lee Chong Wei, Wong Choong Hann.

Men’s doubles: Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah, Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong.

Women’s singles: Wong Mew Choo.

Women’s doubles: Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty.

source

It’s really good news and hope Malaysia Boleh and they would bring back gold medals for Malaysia. Besides that, they will be playing in Thomas Cup Jakarta 11-18. All the best.

PETALING JAYA: Seasoned campaigners Chan Chong Ming-Chew Choon Eng’s failed in their bid to end their six-year title drought when they lost in the men’s doubles final at the US$120,000 India Open in Hyderabad yesterday.

The former world number one went down 21-19, 14-21, 12-21 to China’s second ranked pair of Guo Zhengdong-Xie Zhongbo in a showdown that saw a great comeback from the Chinese players.

After a great start in the first game, the unseeded Chong Ming and Choon Eng eventually lost steam against the solid attacking play of the towering Chinese.

The world No.9 Zhengdong-Zhongbo, desperately seeking to be seeded in the Beijing Olympic Games, stepped up their tempo in the second game and grew from strength to strength to wrap up the title.

Chong Ming-Choon Eng last won a title together at the 2002 Japan Open.

Despite the loss, the Malaysians, currently in the national team as sparring partners and sponsored by Victor for their international tournaments, can still walk tall for their giant killing feats from the first round onwards.

Chong Ming-Choon Eng, who are ranked 92 in the world, collected the scalps of world No. 6 pair, the Indonesian-American combination of Candra Wijaya-Tony Gunawan and the world No. 10 pairing of the Lee Jae-jin-Hwang Ji-man of South Korea.

The India Open is only their third tournament together since making a comeback this year as a pair after their previous partnerships were split in 2004.

Chong Ming agreed that their physical condition were a letdown.

“They were in better physical condition than us. We could not follow their pace and we felt that the shuttle was slow. We lost concentration and were a spent force,” said Chong Ming.

“But overall, it was a good run for us. And now, we look forward to future tournaments with a little more confidence. We can at least still give the top pairs a fight,” he added.

He is now keeping his fingers crossed that he would be called up to the play in the Asian Badminton Championships (ABC) from April 15-20 in Johor Baru. Both Chong Ming-Choon Eng are on the reserve list.

more details

Previous Match Photo

Lee Chong Wei [Malaysia] vs Lin Dan [China] - 21-13 21-18 Lee Chong Wei lost and Lin Dan won.

I was really disappointed when Lee Chong Wei lost to Lin Dan in just two straight games. I was hoping Lee Chong Wei could make it to rubber set and get over Lin Dan but Lin Dan just get over it easily I would say.

Let’s have a look at the stats available thru tournamentsoftware

Co-incident I was in Berjaya Times Square for wedding dinner and I saw this CIMB KL Open Squash Championships 08, so I took some of the pictures and video.

Beng Hee ends 28-month drought with first KL Open title

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Ong Beng Hee captured his first title in over two years when he beat compatriot Mohd Azlan Iskandar 11-8, 11-10 (5-3), 11-10 (2-0) in the men’s final of the Kuala Lumpur Open squash championships yesterday.

But what a titanic tussle it turned out to be at the Berjaya Times Square.

Beng Hee, who lost to Azlan in the Asian Championships final in Kuwait last month, needed 66 minutes to clinch victory – his first since winning the Malaysian Open title in November 2005.
Victorious: Beng Hee beat Azlan 11-8, 11-10 (5-3), 11-10 (2-0) in the men’s final.

Both players fought tooth-and-nail to entertain the crowd to an exciting final.

Beng Hee received US$7,220 (RM24,500) for his efforts while Azlan pocketed US$4,940 (RM16,700).

Beng Hee took a comfortable 9-5 lead in the first set. He then dropped three points before getting his game back on track to win the set.

The second and third sets proved to be very close affairs as both players went toe-to-toe.

In the second set, Azlan held match point at 10-9 but Beng Hee accidentally hit Azlan’s left elbow with the racquet.

Azlan continued to play despite the pain. Beng Hee managed to level the score at 10-10 to force a tiebreak.

Azlan again went ahead at 13-12, needing just point to win the set. But again Beng Hee rose to the occasion, collecting three points to clinch the set.

The third set proved to be just as heart-stopping, with Azlan again taking a 10-9 lead. Beng Hee, never one to say die without trying, fought back to level the score 10-10 and force another tiebreak.

Beng Hee was leading 11-10 when he was accidentally kneed by Azlan in his left calf.

Beng Hee had to be attended to by a doctor before the match resumed three minutes later. The injury failed to stop Beng Hee from collecting the crucial point to win the third set and seal victory.

Beng Hee said he was happy to have proved his critics wrong by ending his 28-month Professional Squash Association (PSA) title drought.

“It was a great win for me as I faced a strong challenge from Azlan. I panicked when I injured my left calf and I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to continue playing and get the crucial point,” said Beng Hee.

“Luckily I managed to get my act right and win my first KL Open title.”

“If I had lost the third set, I think I would have lost the match.”

Beng Hee also said that Azlan lost “because he looks mentally tired”.

Azlan said he was disappointed at not being able to get the crucial points despite taking the leads in the second and third sets.

“Hats off to Beng Hee for playing such a good match and coming from behind to win the final,” said Azlan.

read more

KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 1 Nicol David played the role of a party-pooper when she spoiled Natalie Grinham’s second wedding anniversary by beating the Dutchwoman in the final of the CIMB Kuala Lumpur Open squash championships at the Berjaya Times Square here yesterday.

Nicol, the defending champion, played a fast game to win 9-4, 9-2, 9-2 in just 35 minutes for her third title this year and her fifth KL Open crown.

The Penangite won the Apawamis Open in New York in January and also bagged her sixth Asian title in Kuwait last month.

It was Nicol’s seventh win over Grinham in eight meetings since last year.

Grinham, who is nursing a sprained foot suffered during the Apawamis Open, gave a good fight in the first set.

But she found it difficult to keep pace with Nicol in the next two sets.

Grinham said that she could not give her best because of her sprained foot.

“However, I will take a break for few days as tomorrow (today) is my second wedding anniversary,” said Grinham, who is married to 2001 KL Open champion Tommy Berden.

Two-time World Open champion Nicol pocketed US$8,122 (RM27,600) for her victory while Grinham took home US$5,771 (RM19,600).

Nicol, who also won the KL Open in 2000, 2002 and 2005, said that it was great to have bagged her third title for the year and her fifth KL Open crown.

“I felt good going into the final and Natalie did put up a good fight in the first set,” said Nicol, who captured eight Wispa titles last year.

“But in the next two sets she struggled although she gave her best as I believe she is still suffering from the sprained foot.”

Nicol was also glad that her training stint under former world No. 1 Sarah Fitz-Gerald in Melbourne in January had paid off.

“I picked up some valuable pointers from her and I hope to get her help to further improve my game,” said Nicol.

The 25-year-old player added that she would take a few days’ break before resuming her training.

“I will be doing some exhibition matches in London next week and my next tournament will be the British Open in May,” added the player, who is coached by Australian Liz Irving in Amsterdam.

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