Hong Kong Open

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s top men’s doubles pair of Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong finally rose to the occasion to reach the semi-finals of the Hong Kong Open with a stunning win over reigning Olympic champions Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia.

Yesterday, the duo blew away the top seeds and world No. 1 Markis-Hendra 21-11, 21-17 in just 21 minutes in the quarter-finals.

With the win, Kien Keat-Boon Heong have avenged their defeats to the Indonesians in the last two tournaments — the Beijing Games and French Open.

The Malaysians’ tame defeats in those two tournaments had raised doubts about their status as the country’s top pair.

Power pair: Koo Kien Keat (right) and Tan Boon Heong finally struck form by beating Indonesia’s Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan to reach the semi-finals of the Hong Kong Open Friday.

Today, the Macau Open champions will take on compatriots Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari, thus assuring Malaysia of at least a place in the final.

Zakry-Fairuzizuan, who are determined to regain their winning touch in the Super Series, defeated South Koreans Cho Gun-woo-Yoo Yeon-seong 21-16, 12-21, 21-15 in the other quarter-final.

The duo’s form suffered a dip after the back-to-back Super Series wins in Singapore and Indonesia in June.

But yesterday, the show-stealers were definitely Kien Keat-Boon Heong, who have now virtually confirmed their place in the Super Series Masters Finals, which will be held in Kota Kinabalu from Dec 18-21.

National coach Rexy Mainaky said that there were positive vibes from both his players.

“I think the key to their win today (yesterday) was their positive approach throughout the game. Every shot was taken with confidence. They tried their best to enjoy the game,” said Rexy in a telephone interview.

“The Malaysians have lost to the Indonesians in the last two tournaments (out of eight meetings). But I think this was their best win against them. They were able to control the game and force their opponents to make mistakes.”

Rexy, however, noted that Markis had placed an ice-pack on his knee after the defeat.

“It looked as though that Markis was not in his best condition. But, having said that, I suppose they (Markis and Kido) would not have competed here if they were not fully fit,” he said.

Kien Keat, however, failed to make the semi-finals of the mixed doubles event with partner Ng Hui Lin when they crashed 18-21, 12-21 to China’s Zheng Bo-Ma Jin.

Malaysia’s top women’s doubles pair of Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty continued their fine run in international tournaments when they checked into the semi-finals with a convincing 21-14, 21-15 win over Denmark’s Kamilla Rytter Juhl-Lena Frier Kristiansen.

The duo will take on China’s Zhang Yawen-Zhao Tingting today.

Today’s Match

HONG KONG OPEN

Channel : Astro SuperSport (811)
Date : Saturday, November 29, 2008
Time : 1:00:00 PM
Synopsis : BWF Super Series: Hong Kong Open 2008: Semi Finals
View Live Score of Hong Kong Open Here
Or Live Video Streaming of Hong Kong Open Here.

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1. Starting at 1:00 PM WD

Yawen ZHANG [5] CHN[CHN]
Tingting ZHAO CHN
-
MAS[MAS] Eei Hui CHIN [2]
MAS[MAS] Pei Tty WONG

2. Followed by MS
Boonsak PONSANA THA[THA]
-
CHN[CHN] Jin CHEN [3]

3. Followed by WS
Lin ZHU [5] CHN[CHN]
-
CHN[CHN] Xingfang XIE [4]

4. Followed by XD
Thomas LAYBOURN [6] DEN[DEN]
Kamilla RYTTER JUHL DEN[DEN]
-
KOR[KOR] Yong Dae LEE [5]
KOR[KOR] Hyo Jung LEE

5. Followed by MD
Kien Keat KOO [5] MAS[MAS]
Boon Heong TAN MAS[MAS]
-
MAS[MAS] Mohd Zakry ABDUL LATIF [4]
MAS[MAS] Mohd Fairuzizuan MOHD TAZARI

6. Starting at 6:30 PM XD
Zhongbo XIE [7] CHN[CHN]
Yawen ZHANG CHN[CHN]
-
CHN[CHN] Bo ZHENG
CHN[CHN] Jin MA

7. Followed by WS
Chen WANG HKG[HKG]
-
HKG[HKG] Mi ZHOU [2]

8. Followed by MS
Taufik HIDAYAT [7] INA[INA]
-
CHN[CHN] Dan LIN [2]

9. Followed by WD
Shu CHENG [8] CHN[CHN]
Yunlei ZHAO CHN[CHN]
-
KOR[KOR] Jung Eun HA [7]
KOR[KOR] Min Jung KIM

10. Followed by MD
Jae Sung JUNG [3] KOR[KOR]
Yong Dae LEE KOR[KOR]
-
ENG[ENG] Anthony CLARK
ENG[ENG] Nathan ROBERTSON

THE Malaysian challenge for an Olympic medal from badminton has been whittled down to just one contender following the exits of Wong Mew Choo and the men’s pair of Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong at the Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium last night.

And Lee Chong Wei will shoulder the responsibility of keeping the Malaysian hopes alive when he takes on Indonesian Sony Dwi Kuncoro today for a place in the men’s singles semi-finals.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong were beaten 16-21, 18-21 by Indonesian world champions Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan in the quarter-finals.

Malaysia’s Koo Kien Keat (right) and Tan Boon Heong in action during their loss to Indonesia’s Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

The Malaysian duo had showed solid form in their opening match win over Japan’s Shuichi Sakamoto-Shintaro Ikeda on Tuesday.

But they lacked the aggression needed to beat the top seeded Markis-Hendra.

The Indonesians were solid in defence and led all the way to take the first game 21-16.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong offered a bit of resistance when they led briefly at 14-11 in the second game but had no answers when the Indonesians turned on the style.

Markis-Hendra regained the lead at 18-17 and never looked back to win the match.

It was the first time in six meetings that Kien Keat-Boon Heong lost to the Indonesian pair.

Kien Keat conceded that the Indonesians were outstanding in defence and it was hard to break their rhythm.

“They have become familiar with how we play since we beat them in the 2006 Doha Asian Games. They know our weak points. We could not get our game going even we tried to come back,” he said.

Boon Heong offered no excuses for the defeat and said: “The Indonesians controlled well but we also did not play our best game tonight.”

Hendra said that they knew the Malaysian pair would be difficult to beat and it was a matter of them going in for the kill first.

“We have to start attacking. We were also under no pressure because we have not beaten them before. That helped us a lot. Now, we have a chance to win the gold and we will go all out to get it,” he said.

Markis-Hendra, who have the chance to follow in the footsteps of fellow Indonesians Rexy Mainaky-Ricky Subagja (Atlanta 1996) and Candra Wijaya-Tony Gunawan (Sydney 2000), will play against Danish veterans Jonas Rasmussen-Lars Paaske for a place in the final.

The Danes, who sent the top Korean pair of Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung packing in the first round, came from behind to beat Poland’s Michal Logosz-Robert Mateusiak 17-21, 21-11, 21-15 in the quarter-finals.

China’s golden hope Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun advanced to the semi-finals with an easy 21-9, 21-10 win over Americans Howard Bach-Bob Malaythong.

The second seeded Chinese pair will be up against Jae-jin-Ji-man, who beat Tadashi Ohtsuka-Keita Masuda of Japan 21-12, 18-21, 21-9.

Source : TheStar

Koo Kien Kiat / Tan Boon Heong (Malaysia) Lost to Markis Kido / Hendra Setiawan (Indonesia) two straight games in Badminton Men’s Doubles Quarterfinal 1 , Beijing Olympic. Indonesia won!

Game over for Koo Kien Kiat and Tan Boon Heong

Malaysian performance is this 2008 Beijing Olympic Badminton is not as good as what the rest of the world think. I think Koo Kien Kiat and Tan Boon Heong today played badly. Their understanding between each other does not exist and they keep on fighting for the shuttle and let the opponent have the chance to kill them. Running and positioning is very important and I think the Malaysian have to work harder on that.

KKK and TBH did not attack much in these 2 games but the opponent keep on attacking because the Malaysian keep giving chance to them. KKK and TBH made a lot of mistake and mistake during serving too. Very sad and disappointed over the performance and result.

It’s sad that now we only left Lee Chong Wei in the run of getting a medal in Beijing Olympic. Hopefully Lee Chong Wei able to make it tomorrow 14 August, 11.30am, Channel 821 on Astro Super Sport, Stadium Astro.

WONG Mew Choo had only herself to blame for letting slip the chance to get into the medals playoff of the women’s singles badminton competition at the Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium last night.

She held a total of nine game points in the second game of her quarter-final match against Lu Lan but was unable to force the Chinese third seed to a rubber game and lost the match 7-21, 27-29.

Mew Choo, who was the first Malaysian woman to qualify for an Olympic quarter-final, had no answer to the Lu Lan’s aggression in the first game and conceded defeat in 14 minutes.

Wong Mew Choo takes a tumble during her quarter-final match against China’s Lu Lan on Wednesday. Mew Choo lost 7-21, 27-29.

But it was a different Mew Choo as she forced herself back in contention in the next game.

She caught up with Lu Lan at 8-8 and held game point at 20-15. But she could not close the game, allowing her rival to win five straight points to force deuce.

The battle continued but it was not to be Mew Choo’s night. She bowed out in straight games and there will be an all-China semi-final between Lu Lan and top seed Xie Xingfang, who beat Xu Huaiwen of Germany 21-19, 22-20.

The other semi-final is between defending champion Zhang Ning of China and Indonesian Maria Kristin Yulianti.

Zhang Ning slogged for 66 minutes to beat Pi Hongyan of France 21-8, 19-21, 21-19 while Maria, who ousted Danish contender Tine Rasmussen in the early round, chalked up a 26-28, 21-14, 21-15 win over India’s Saina Nehwal.

Mew Choo rued her missed chances in the crucial moments (leading 20-15).

“I was not certain where to place the shuttle at that time. My heart was in the game but my arms could not respond. Lu Lan caught up and gained confidence. I tried but could not nail that one point,” said the eighth seeded Mew Choo, who was featuring in her first Olympics.

“It’s disappointing but I am satisfied with my outing in Beijing. My objective was to reach the quarter-finals and I did it.”
Source : TheStar

Wong Mew Choo Lost to Lu Lan in Badminton Women’s Singles Quarterfinal 2, Beijing Olympic. Lu Lan won!

Malaysian Wong Mew Choo’s Beijing Olympics’ dream came to an end.

The national number one women’s singles shuttler lost 7-12, 25-27 in the quarter-finals to third seeded Lu Lan from China.

It was a sad end to Mew Choo’s run in Beijing although she had already made history by becoming the first Malaysian woman’s singles to qualify for the Olympics.

When I watching the second match, nearly heart attack. But what a waste for Wong Mew Choo, I was hoping can see for another match by both of the players. Really nice game.

More updates on Koo Kian Keat / Tan Boon Heong Men’s Doubles Quarterfinal 1 and Lee Chong Wei Men’s Singles Quarterfinal 4 later. Hopefully this time Malaysian can make it. Malaysia Boleh.

View Olympic Badminton live score of their matches here.

Again there’s another fake incident after the fake fireworks display in the Beijing Olympic Opening… Girl Lip Synching

What do you think? Would you mind for a superb but not all real and solid for the Olympic Opening?

Unsung hero: Beijing first-grader was the voice but not the face of the Olympic opening song

By CARA ANNA Associated Press Writer
BEIJING August 12, 2008 (AP)

One little girl had the looks. The other had the voice.

(AP Photo/ABC)
More PhotosSo in a last-minute move demanded by one of China’s highest officials, the two were put together for the Olympic opening ceremony, with one lip-synching “Ode to the Motherland” over the other’s singing.

The real singer, 7-year-old Yang Peiyi, with her chubby face and crooked baby teeth, wasn’t good looking enough for the ceremony, its chief music director told state-owned Beijing Radio.

So the pigtailed Lin Miaoke, a veteran of television ads, mouthed the words with a pixie smile for a stadium of 91,000 and a worldwide TV audience. “I felt so beautiful in my red dress,” the tiny 9-year-old told the China Daily newspaper.

Peiyi later told China Central Television that just having her voice used was an honor.

It was the latest example of the lengths the image-obsessed China is taking to create a perfect Summer Games.

In a brief phone interview with AP Television News on Tuesday night, the music director, Chen Qigang, said he spoke about the switch with Beijing Radio “to come out with the truth.”

“The little girl is a magnificent singer,” Chen said. “She doesn’t deserve to be hidden.” He said the ceremony’s director, film director Zhang Yimou, knew of the change. He declined to speak further about it.

China has been eager to present a flawless Olympics face to the world, shooing thousands of migrant workers from the city and shutting down any sign of protest.

The country’s quest for perfection apparently includes its children.

A member of China’s Politburo asked for the last-minute change during a live rehearsal shortly before the ceremony, Chen said in the Beijing Radio interview, posted online Sunday night. He didn’t name the official.

During the live rehearsal, the Politburo member said Miaoke’s voice “must change,” Chen said.

“We had to make that choice. It was fair both for Lin Miaoke and Yang Peiyi,” Chen told Beijing Radio. “We combined the perfect voice and the perfect performance.”

Source : abcnews.com

China Olympic ceremony star mimed

By Michael Bristow
BBC News, Beijing

Yang Peiyi (L) had the perfect voice, but Lin Miaoke had the perfect face

A pretty girl who won national fame after singing at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games was only miming.

Wearing a red dress and pigtails, Lin Miaoke charmed a worldwide audience with a rendition of “Ode to the Motherland”.

But the singer was Yang Peiyi, who was not allowed to appear because she is not as “flawless” as nine-year-old Lin.

The show’s musical director said Lin was used because it was in the best interests of the country.

The revelation follows news that a fireworks display used during the opening ceremony was apparently faked.

‘Smiling angel’

Speaking on Beijing Radio station, musical director Chen Qigang said the organisers needed a girl with both a good image and a good voice.

They faced a dilemma because although Lin was prettier, seven-year-old Yang had the better voice, Mr Chen said.

“After several tests, we decided to put Lin Miaoke on the live picture, while using Yang Peiyi’s voice,” he told the radio station.

“The reason for this is that we must put our country’s interest first,” he added.

“The girl appearing on the picture must be flawless in terms of her facial expression and the great feeling she can give to people.”

Singer Lin, who is being called the “smiling angel”, has already become a media celebrity because of her performance.

She told state-run China Daily that she felt “beautiful” in the red dress she wore during the performance.

Her dad told the newspaper that she already had fans all over the country.

According to Chinese news reports, Yang said she did not regret the decision, saying she was satisfied to have had her voice featured in the opening ceremony.

This is the second “fake” story about the opening ceremony

Viewers around the world saw a display in which 29 firework “footprints” travelled across Beijing from south to north.

But a senior official from the Beijing organising committee (Bocog) confirmed on Tuesday that footage of the display had been produced before the big night.

This was provided to broadcasters for “convenience and theatrical effects”, according to Wang Wei, Bocog’s executive vice-president.

“Because of poor visibility, some previously recorded footage may have been used,” he told a daily press conference.

Source : BBC News

08.08.08

08-08-08 is a nice number and date. Perhaps a lot people out there queuing up to buy ToTo or 4D just to get the “8080″ number or “8888″, in Chinese it’s believed that 8 is “Fatt”, meaning prosperity. A lot pepple choose today to register, opening of new company, etc…

Bei Bei 福娃贝贝， Jing Jing 福娃晶晶， Huan Huan 福娃欢欢， Ying Ying 福娃迎迎

Today it will be a historical moment. Olympic Opening Ceremony @ 080808 Beijing, China. It’s a very grand ceremony and it’s directed by director of Zhang Yimou (张艺谋). Must watch! Tv1 and Astro is broadcasting live. Not sure there’s live streaming broadcast over the Internet or not.

We have high hope for the Gold Medal in Badminton! Malaysia Boleh. Hope our Lee Chong Wei, Wong Meow Choo, Chong Tan Fook / Lee Wan Wah, Koo Kien Keat / Tan Boon Heong will make Malaysia proud.

The Olympic Games[1] are an international multi-sport event. The Modern Olympic Games were inaugurated in Athens in 1896, and are held at the beginning of every Olympiad. The Games were organized as a summer sports event through 1920. In 1924 the winter games began in Chamonix, France. Until 1992, they were both held in the same year. Since then, the summer games are held during the first year of an Olympiad, the winter games during the third year.[2]

The original Olympic Games (Greek: Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες; [Olympiakoi Agones] (help·info)) were first recorded in 776 BC in Olympia, Greece, and were celebrated until AD 393.[3] Interest in reviving the Olympic Games proper was first shown by the Greek poet and newspaper editor Panagiotis Soutsos in his poem “Dialogue of the Dead” in 1833.[4] Evangelos Zappas sponsored the first modern international Olympic Games in 1859. He paid for the refurbishment of the Panathinaiko Stadium for Games held there in 1870 and 1875.[4] This was noted in newspapers and publications around the world including the London Review, which stated that “the Olympian Games, discontinued for centuries, have recently been revived! Here is strange news indeed … the classical games of antiquity were revived near Athens”.[5]

The International Olympic Committee was founded in 1894 on the initiative of a French nobleman, Pierre Frédy, Baron de Coubertin. The IOC has become the heart of the “Olympic Movement”, a conglomeration of organizations that are involved in the organization of the Games. As the Olympic Movement has grown so has the profile and complexity of the Games. Pariticipation in the Games has increased to the point that nearly every nation on earth is represented. With the proliferation of satellite communications, the internet, and the continuing trend towards globalization, the Olympics are consistently gaining supporters.[6] This growth has created numerous challenges never before envisioned by Baron de Coubertin. Some of these difficulties include political boycotts, the use of performance enhancing medications, bribery of officials, and terrorism.

The most recent Summer Olympics were the 2004 Games in Athens and the most recent Winter Olympics were the 2006 Games in Turin. The upcoming games in Beijing are planned to comprise 302 events in 28 sports.[7] As of 2006, the Winter Olympics were competed in 84 events in 7 sports.[8]

more details : Wikipedia

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.