Wow, finally a good show from Lee Chong Wei, Chin Eei Hui & Wong Pei Tty to show that they are no. 1 in Badminton. Malaysia Boleh, they both really show their spirit in this Indonesia Open Final, despite being “BOO” by the Indonesia fans they still able to make it, that’s the spirit! The only dissapointment is that our Malaysian Men’s double, Koo Kien Keat & Tan Boon Heong, did not make it to the final. Nonetheless, it’s a good show and performance from Malaysia team.
The men’s double final between Korea and China was very excited and it was a close fight between them, I must say Lee Yong Dae surely has potential to be the best badminton player as he’s very committed and strong mind.
Fearless Chong Wei stuns Taufik
PETALING JAYA: Intimidation from the Indonesian fans did not stop Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei from defeating local favourite Taufik Hidayat to lift the Indonesia Open men’s singles title at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta yesterday.
The world No. 1 carved out a stunning 21-9, 21-14 win over Taufik to justify his top billing in the eighth leg of the Super Series. It was the second time that Chong Wei won the title after 2007.
Chong Wei was in total command of the match against the six-time Indonesian Open champion, who has left the national team to fend on his own as an independent player.
The win for Chong Wei certainly made up for the disappointment of losing to Vietnamese Nguyen Tien Minh in the second round of the preceding Singapore Open.
National singles chief coach Rashid Sidek was happy with Chong Wei’s quick rebound in form.
“Chong Wei showed strong mental strength today. He did not let the spectators get to him. Instead, he was confident all the way,” he said.
“Even a short spell in the second game did not get him down. Instead, he showed the true quality of a world No. 1 player in his game against Taufik.
“It is a great day for Malaysia. It is the first time that we have won two titles in the Indonesia Open.”
Malaysia’s other title came in the women’s doubles through world No. 1 Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty, who defeated Cheng Shu-Zhao Yunley of China.
On the next assignment in the Malaysian Open Gold Grand Prix, which begins on Wednesday in Johor Baru, Rashid predicts another final encounter between Chong Wei and Taufik.
“They are the top two seeds and barring any upsets and fatigue, I hope Chong Wei can go all the way to win the Open at home too,” he said.
“Chong Wei definitely played better than he did in the Singapore Open. He is certainly shaping up well for the world championships (in India in August).”
Meanwhile, Lee Yong-dae of South Korea made up for his disappointment in the mixed doubles by winning the men’s doubles title with Jung Jae-sung. The duo played superbly to beat China’s Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng 21-15, 21-18 in a tight 43-minute battle.
Earlier, Yong-dae and his Olympic Games gold medal-winning mixed doubles partner, Lee Hyo-jung, went down 17-21, 21-8, 16-21 to China’s Zheng Bo-Ma Jin.
Source : TheStar
Badminton: Eei Hui-Pei Tty finally justify their No. 1 status
PETALING JAYA: It was a day of firsts for Malaysia’s Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty and India’s Saina Nehwal when they prevented a China domination in the women’s badminton events of the Indonesia Open at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta yesterday.
Eei Hui-Pei Tty ended six months of disappointment when they justified their world No. 1 status for the first time, beating China’s Cheng Shu-Zhao Yunlei 21-16, 21-16 in a 37-minute final match.
It was sweet revenge for the Malaysians, who were beaten by the Chinese pair once before in the final of the Japan Open last year.
For Eei Hui-Pei Tty, it was their third international Open title after their success in the Danish Open and the Super Series Masters Finals last year.
Malaysia’s Wong Pei Tty (right) and Chin Eei Hui bite medals after defeating China’s Chen Shu and Zhao Yunlie during their women’s doubles final match at Istora Bung Karno stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia. -AP
Their good run in the second half of last year saw them take the world No. 1 ranking in January but since then, they failed miserably and did not feature in a final until yesterday. And a back injury to Eei Hui in March did not help their cause. But yesterday, all went right for Eei Hui-Pei Tty.
“Honestly, the win here is something that is difficult for me to believe. We were not thinking about our world No. 1 status. We just took a match at a time,” said Pei Tty in a telephone interview.
“But to come this far and win our first title this year here in Indonesia is really great. I think, the turning point for us was our first-ever win over the Koreans (Lee Hyo-jung-Lee Kyung-won in the quarter-finals). It lifted a big burden off our shoulders. It gave us a lot of confidence to go all out in the final.”
The 29-year-old Pei Tty gave credit to Eei Hui, who celebrated her 27th birthday on Thursday, for her quick comeback from injury.
“It is common to be injured but Eei Hui certainly did great to make a strong comeback sooner than expected. It involves a lot of hardship.”
Eei Hui said that they played the right tactical game to get the better of the Chinese.
“Cheng Shu, especially, was making a lot of mistakes. She was our target for the day. Our defence was also solid and that frustrated our opponents,” she said.
“We certainly surprised ourselves with the win here. All the top pairs were in the competition and it definitely gives us confidence and a new hope to do well in the world championships (in India from Aug 10-16). But we still need to brush up some areas of our game.”
The next tournament for Pei Tty-Eei Hui is the Malaysian Open Gold Grand Prix, beginning on Wednesday in Johor Baru.
In the women’s singles, 19-year-old Saina scored a major breakthrough in her career when she put up a brilliant show, especially in the decider, to stun Wang Lin of China 12-21, 21-8, 21-9 in a 49-minute thriller.
It was Saina’s first Super Series title and it certainly gave her a huge dose of confidence ahead of the world championships in Hyderabad. Just a day ago, the former world junior champion, beat world No. 3 Lu Lan of China.
For the record, it is rare for China to return home without a title from either the women’s singles or doubles.
Source : TheStar
