Maybank Malaysia Open 2012 Side news, images, pictures, videos, articles, etc...

You're poking a joke for the 2nd answer right?
maybe u could give another answer for the 3rd pic..

 

Looks like we wil get some serious business on court this week

[h=1]Chong Wei ready to derail China trio’s Olympic mission[/h] [h=2]REPORTS by RAJES PAUL, KNG ZHENG GUAN and JOEL ALEXANDER[/h]
CHEN LONG is fresh. Lin Dan is wounded. Chen Jin (pic) wants an Olympic ticket — badly.
But World No. 1 and reigning champion Lee Chong Wei is ready to derail the Chinese trio’s Olympic mission at the Maybank Malaysia Open, which begins today with the qualifying tournament at Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

Buoyed by his sensational win over Lin Dan in the final of the Korea Open in Seoul on Sunday, Chong Wei is all pumped up to nail his eighth home title to provide more cheer for the home fans.
“The Malaysia Open is always special to me and I am determined to maintain my good run here,” said Chong Wei, who returned home from Seoul yesterday.

The top seeded Malaysian is in the same half as World No. 3 and third seed Chen Long and there is a huge possibility that the duo will clash in the semi-finals.
Chen Long, who is well rested after conceding a walkover in the first round of the Korea Open, had beaten Chong Wei three times last year - at the finals of the Japan and Denmark Opens and the semi-final of World Superseries Finals in Liuzhou last month.
If Chong Wei lives up to his seeding, he may take on World No. 2 Lin Dan or former world champion Chen Jin in the final. Barring any upsets, Lin Dan and Chen Jin are expected to clash in the quarter-finals.
But it is uncertain which Lin Dan will show up for the Open which he has never won before. The Olympic Games are China’s priority and they are intent on having their three top players vying for gold in the men’s singles in London.
As such, four-time world champion Lin Dan may concede a walkover to Chen Jin to enable him to collect valuable points to move up to fourth in the world rankings. A country can have a maximum of three players for the singles at the Olympics if all of them are ranked in the top four.
At the Malaysia Open last year, Lin Dan conceded a walkover to Chen Long in the last eight much to the disappointment of the fans who had wanted to see the China superstar play Chong Wei in the final.
But Lin Dan may want to avenge the Seoul defeat and end his barren run on Malaysian soil. He hinted as much on arriving in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
“I am here to win the Malaysia Open for the first time,” declared Lin Dan. “The Seoul outing was tiring but I will be ready as I want to make up for that defeat by Chong Wei in the final.”

Chong Wei is just as determined to extend his reign as champion.
“These are the same players I may meet in the Olympic Games. It will be good if I can beat them, especially Chen Long, after losing to him in Liuzhou,” he said.

National coach Tey Seu Bock said Chen Long had conserved his energy and would be in full throttle in KL.
”No reasons were given for his first round walkover in Seoul. We didn’t see him after that except for the final between Chong Wei and Lin Dan,” said Seu Bock.
”The players from China are doing their best to break Chong Wei’s confidence before the Olympics because they see him as their biggest threat. Despite the psychological war that is going on, I am proud that Chong Wei keeps showing that he is mentally strong enough to deal with it.”
Despite the focus on Chong Wei and the triple threat from China, Seu Bock also sees Peter-Gade Christensen of Denmark, Simin Santoso of Indonesia, Lee Hyun-il of South Korea and Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia as spoilers.
But what the China players will do remains the intriguing conundrum of the Open.

 

[h=1]Peter recalls his 18-year affair with Malaysia Open[/h]
Malaysia is one place close to the heart of Denmark’s most celebrated men’s singles badminton player Peter-Gade Christensen.
And why not? After all, he kick-started his illustrious career right here in Kuala Lumpur in 1994.
That was when he became a world junior champion, albeit in the boys’ doubles, and for the last 18 years the good-natured shuttler has always come back “home” to showcase his skills to thousands of his adoring fans in Malaysia.
Great Dane: Peter Gade-Christensen strikes a pose for the camera during a training session.
Hardly showing any signs of his age, the 35-year-old Dane arrived on Saturday for what will be his last outing in the Malaysia Open which begins today at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
Christensen has said he will quit after this year’s London Olympics to become a coach and there’s no doubt he will also be good in that role.
But first, Christensen has promised Malaysian fans a special parting gift in appreciation of the wonderful times he has enjoyed here – by going the extra mile in the Malaysia Open, which is the second leg of the Super Series.
“I will really miss the Malaysian fans. They are fantastic. Some of my greatest memories are from matches here in KL,” said Christensen, who has won the Malaysia Open twice – in 1998 and 2007.
“The fans have always been supportive and I really appreciate that. They are also very knowledgeable about the game.
“I have so many good memories here. The 2000 Thomas Cup Finals probably was one of the greatest moments for me.
“I was playing the first singles against my friend (Wong) Choong Hann in front of a packed Putra Stadium. Denmark went on to win the tie ... sorry, Malaysia.
“The other cherished moment was winning the Malaysia Open singles title at the Cheras Stadium in 2007 despite suffering a migraine attack on the flight here.”
Asked about his favourite past time and player in Malaysia, Christensen said: “I used to do shopping here but not anymore. Usually, I will go to some of the best restaurants in the city and almost every time, I catch up with Choong Hann or some other friends.
“It is difficult to pick a favourite player. I have great respect for Choong Hann, Lee Chong Wei and Rashid Sidek. I have played against all of them and to me, they are among the all time greats.”
The lanky Dane had seen the Malaysian game and the Malaysia Open evolve over the years and has mixed feelings about it.
“I see Malaysia as one of the ‘homes’ of world badminton as there is a huge interest in the game.
“Chong Wei has been outstanding for the past five years and the men’s doubles on some occasions. But like Denmark and many other countries, they lack quality young players breaking through ... especially in the men’s singles,” he said.
“I strongly feel the Malaysia Open deserves to be a Premium Super Series. Badminton in Malaysia is amazing when the stadiums are packed.
“Putra is a huge stadium and it is difficult to fill it up sometimes. But it is a special stadium and I hope there will be a lot of people this time.”
Asked what kept him going in a physically demanding sport, he said: “Well, age is just a number. How one feels inside and what they do on court are what matter. People will always question your abilities when you get older.
“Joy for the game has kept me going especially against Asia’s best. However, I feel I’ve reached the limit and now is the time to say goodbye.
“I will surely miss the game when I quit.
“There is this special feeling in the body and mind every time you step onto the court.”
Quitting competitive badminton means Christensen can spend more time with his family and focus on becoming a respected coach.
“Some other big names will be quitting too.
Taufik Hidayat (Indonesia) and I will say our goodbyes after the Olympics while Lin Dan and Chong Wei will follow at some point soon. These guys have been the main attraction all over the world and will leave a huge gap when they go.
“I see the field being more open than ever and I hope that my compatriots like Jan Jorgensen, Victor Axelsen and others will be ready to take up the fight against the Asian players.
“Badminton still needs to do a lot more to keep up with other sports. We have to present the sport and the players in a more professional manner.
“Much is still handled the old way and we need to change to stay relevant. There is still a huge interest in our sport – especially in China — so the future looks promising.”

 

[h=1]Home is the place for Koo-Tan to deliver[/h]
THERE is no better place than home for the men’s doubles shuttlers Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong (pic) to regain their winning touch.
And with strong backing from the home fans, Kien Keat-Boon Heong will be going all out to end their two-year drought for a Super Series title when they compete in the Maybank Malaysia Open.
The duo have been seeking the elusive breakthrough since winning the Malaysia Open title in 2010. But unfortunately, all they experienced over the last two years were narrow misses, bitter disappointments and a growing list of sceptical fans.
A good performance in the home tournament will provide a tremendous boost for self-confidence and also renewed hope ahead of the Olympic Games in London, which is just seven months away.

After a stuttering start at the Korea Open in Seoul last week, the 27-year-old Kien Keat is hoping for a better showing with Boon Heong this week.
“Winning is important to us but, honestly, we gave our best before going down in the Korea Open (they lost 21-13, 20-22, 22-24 to Taiwan’s Fang Chien-min-Lee Sheng-mu). We played in challenging conditions but we understand that this cannot be used as an excuse,” said Kien Keat.

”Things are much better for us now. We are serious in getting our game going but our finishing is not up to the mark. We are working on it and hope to regain the winning feeling again,” he added.

The world’s top three men’s doubles pairs – Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng of China, Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung of South Korea and Denmark’s Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen are not competing in the Malaysia Open. It should make it easier for the Malaysian pair to succeed but Kien Keat is not taking anything for granted.
Top seeds Yong-dae-Jae-sung’s withdrawal due to the latter’s shoulder injury was confirmed during the team managers meeting yesterday.
“The men’s doubles competition is wide open. Any of the top pairs can lose to anyone ranked within the top 20. Many pairs have a winning chance under the 21-point scoring format,” said Kien Keat.

”We will not take anyone lightly. We have a battle on our hands right from the opening match and it is important that we reduce our mistakes.”
National doubles chief coach Tan Kim Her, who has set a semi-final target for Kien Keat-Boon Heong, said he would hold a meeting with the shuttlers after the Malaysia Open to review their preparations for the Olympics.
“We need to decide whether to send them for more tournaments or keep them at home to work on their game. Currently, they are ranked sixth and we cannot let them drop out of the top eight,” said Kim Her.
“A lot of planning is needed in this situation. But first, we want them to focus on the Malaysia Open.”

Kien Keat-Boon Heong are in the bottom half with second seeds South Koreans Ko Sung-hyun-Yoo Yeon-seong, Indonesians Mohd Ahsan-Bona Ahsan, Japan’s Hirokatsu Hashimoto-Noriyasu Hirata, Chieh-min-Sheng-mu of Taiwan and Malaysia’s back-up pair of Goh Wei Shem-Lim Khim Wah.
In the absence of top seeds Yong-dae-Jae-sung, the favourites in the top half are Indonesian pairs Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan and Alven Yulianto-Hendra Gunawan, Chai Biao-Guo Zhengdong of China and Denmark’s Mads Conrad-Petersen-Jonas Rasmussen.

 

Meanwhile super dan is all ready and 'feeling good'.. Maybe Daniel give lin dan hear too much of 'I FEEL GOOD' song on the plane earlier?

 

Another one from the official website.. HIGH possibility we will see SUPER DAN ACTION AGAIN..
Confident Lin Dan
10 Jan 2012
Four-time world champion Lin Dan arrived in Malaysia last night and promptly declared he will win his first ever Maybank Malaysia Open presented by Proton.

The Chinese superstar, who has also won the Olympics (2008), Asian Games (2010), BWF World Superseries Finals (2011), All England (four times) and Badminton Asia Championships (twice) as well as being a four-time winner for both the Thomas and Sudirman Cups, only has two second place finishes in the Malaysia Open to his name.
As such, he hopes to rectify this record at this year’s competition, which began with the qualifying rounds this morning.
“I’m here to win and I think I will be able to beat Chong Wei in the final,” said the world No. 2, who suffered a three-game defeat to his Malaysian rival in Sunday’s Korea Open final.

“I’m confident. Seoul was tiring, but I’m determined to make up for the loss.”
Lin Dan holds a commanding 19-8 lead over Chong Wei and even beat him at the 2010 Thomas Cup, but has yet to claim a win over the world No.1 at a Malaysia Open.
The first time they met was at the Malaysia Open was in 2005 final where Chong Wei won 17-15, 9-15, 15-9. A year later, Chong Wei once again defeated Lin Dan in the final, this time with scores of 21-18, 18-21, 23-21.